It was odd for me to watch this movie as I was completely unaware about Slovenian film industry and movie culture. Considering the above fact I have to say I was not much impressed by the whole affair.
The story is set in a town in Slovenia, bordering Austria and centers around the workshop of Gajas - an auto mechanic and his assistant, David, who at the starting of the movie moves to the town in search of job, played by Vlado Novak and Primoz Bezjak respectively. The story mostly happens in the auto mechanic shop and house of Gajas and the movie is rich with different kinds of characters that revolve around Gajas.
When the story moves ahead, we find that David getting into a serious affair with Bronja, the wife of a thug-like man, Lepec, a strip club owner. Unknown to him almost throughout the movie, they have a passionate affair that suddenly turns very serious. While Gajas have a not- so- good relationship with Lepec as the latter does not pay immediately for the works done by Gajas. Meanwhile, Gajs comes to know about the relationship between his assistant and Lepec's wife yet he does not disclose it with Lepec.
The love story is so lamely written and visualized. The director has done it in a much too cynical way. The audience does not see any connection between the couple. The only things we see between the couples are they making love that too three to four times. We don't see them talking or we don't see them looking at each other with understanding. Yet towards the end we see both of them completely into each other and missing each other. Even the acting of Bezjak and Zemljic was any good.
The direction also falls flat with nothing outstanding to give with a plain old story in the same old pot. Another important thing about this movie is that, the cinematography is really good and has really shown great shots of Slovenia.
But I have to say I have to say the movie was in some way watchable, thanks to Gajas and his lines. Vlado Novak's portrayal as the aging drunken enthusiastic mechanic was a clinical one who is all gung-ho about the old days when Tito was alive. He falling for the Croatian pop singer Severina and her voice and he being desperate to meet her was all nice to watch. And his dreams and the rooster's breakfast (watch the movie to get it) he has with "Severina" all leads to a better climax to the whole movie that the love story alone could not have done. Mr. Novak was indeed brilliant in enacting the role as the mechanic in love with the celebrity with all the great lines in the movie given to him. When the movie in the whole as David as the main character and is all about his life in the town and how it affects the life of people there, Gajas gets all the applause for his innocence and a brilliant acting.
But on the whole, the movie fails considerably as the audience has not understood why Bronja and David are in love, why nobody noticed them together when they were walking around the town all the while, why Lepec's cars are constantly in repair.
It's not a great movie, a onetime watchable movie just for the awesome acting of Novak and the cinematography. But as I said in the beginning I don't know how movies are made in Slovenia and this might have biased my views on the movie.
P.S. Heard that this movie was one of the biggest hits in Slovenia and had received numerous awards. Hmmmm!!!
~ dillitalkies.blogspot.com ~
