Brot und Milch

Considered one of the best Slovenian movies of the last years, "Kruh In Mleko" just doesn't hold up to its reputation and fame. Directing that hardly ever reaches the viewer makes it quite hard to watch with the fullest attention and the dark story that turns into cheap childish preaching at the very end never get to their destination, so we can only comfort ourselves and say it was an artsy movie. Well, not the best consolation, but I have to at least give much praise to Mr. Cvitkovic's good script and the actors. They hold everything together and make the best out of every line they utter.

All in all worth the time because it's not long. 6/10

The second day of the 'European filmweek' in a nice cinema in Budapest, showed this film of which I can't pronounce the title. Potentially a nice film, a story that you might be able to work with, maybe especially in Slovenian context.

The first part of the film was quite good indeed, pretty good acting, nice music, so far so good. But then, after approximately 60 minutes they should have cut it, which of course they didn't. In the 8 minutes that were left they managed to spoil the hour before it. So, my advice would be: leave after an hour and you won't feel sorry.

I quite appreciated this movie, because of its dry and not pretentious style, usage of shots and b/w to reproduce a not-so-happy present society in Slovenia. It's about social issues that hardly will find a prompt answer in a society that present itself as unsteady and in the middle of a deep change.

The director chooses this unpersonal style, through which it obtains the disappearing of its presence in the movie - it's an unobtrusive narrator - and at same time it gives the product a docudrama style quite right.

Well written, it just loses rythm here and then, the second part is not so strong as the first one, but it's short enough not to spiral out its path.

Good work.

This film is a partially successful attempt to describe the juvenile bewilderment and the desperation of the adults in a country in transition to the economy of free market and the West. Its greatest asset is the dryness of the style, which in the second part of the film turns into its major flaw: repetitiveness of a monotonous mood; as someone has noticed before there isn't any shot too much, but maybe there is some less than necessary: in the long run the effort of being essential leaves the suspicion that the unusually short running time, only 68', is due to a certain lack of invention and what previously was slick then becomes flat and dull. In any case the script is sincere and brave enough to show that Slovenia is not such a "posh" country as someone could believe, not being immune from nationalism and ethnic chauvinism that often give vent to the economic and social troubles. A warning for the viewers: this is one of those films indulging in their own gloom so if you have suicidal tendencies just avoid seeing it. It could be the last thing you do! The director Jan Cvitkovic has received the prize for the best debut film at the Venice film Festival; during the closing ceremony he went on the stage to receive the prize wearing T-shirt with the symbol of communism on. Finally I would say that "Kruh in mleko" is a flawed but interesting film of a director whose next releases are gonna deserve our attention.

They've qualified for their first World Cup, and the poshest ex-Yugoslav state can also boast one of Europe's rising-star directors: Cvitkovic barely wastes a frame as he brings in Kruh in mleko at a lean 68 minutes of monochrome.

Recovering alcoholic Ivan is sent by his wife to buy groceries. On his way back he bumps into an old pal and rapidly falls off the wagon, with catastrophic consequences all round.

Doesn't sound much like a comedy, but the disasters escalate so quickly and cruelly they tip over into crazy farce. Think Some Mothers Do 'ave Em, as written by Raymond Carver.