Vegetarian Cannibal

It's all Rene Bitorajac show in a smirking performance as Danko Babic. A ruthless, ambitious and unscrupulous gynecologist who will do anything to get to the top of his profession including accepting bribery from patients and sabotaging other doctors reputation through mischievous methods. He is in bed with corrupt cops and local thugs to falsify medical conditions just for the money. Like the famous Madonna song, Danko is a material guy and he is living in a material world.

But the sh*t is about to hit the fan for the good doctor when the chicken come home to roost in shape of sloppy malpractices and investigation into his conduct by both the clinic and later the police. In particular when he starts performing dangerous abortions on sex workers owned by a dangerous criminal. But does Danka even care about the consequences or feel remorse at all? The answer is left to the viewers to decide.

Paints an unflattering view of Croatian professionals in general. Doctors are depicted as either corrupt or inconsiderate folks worrying more about lawsuits than about the patient. Nurses are portrayed as equal opportunist though it's more of a unrequited love in case of Babic's loyal assistant Lana (talented Natasa Janjic in a thankless role). Disgusting jokes and racial taunts seems to be the norm. The less said about the police the better.

It seems Branko Schmidt (writer/director) is using the character of Danko as some sort of a template…a mirror of Croatian crumbling moral values amid self-serving greed. The nobility of the titular profession is tainted by Danko's employing his abilities as a gynecologist for reprehensible purposes. Unique resolution will divide viewers.

The gory and surgical procedure segments are mostly implied. That actually makes it tougher to watch more so if you're pro-life.

First of all i am Croatian , but surely i would write shitty review if this Croatian movie would suck big time. Instead i am going to write really nice review of this film which i should write also for Metastaze of the same auteur/director/lead role. For me Rene Bitorajac rocks - BIG TIMES. Sometimes ( remembering American psycho) even more than Christian Bale at his greatest moments in AP.He proved his "Madness " in Metastaze already - thank you for that Rene ! Branko Schmidt did really fine work in both Metastaze and Cannibal/ Vegetarian as well , and he proved he is one of greatest Croatian directors living today. Ivo Balenovic is story for itself.Not only he is highlight for read in newspapers he is writing for , but also his two books of witch those two films are made of are top notch. But , if situation in Croatia would not be exactly as it was shown in those two books/ films the "Punch in the face " wold not be as strong as it is . Knowing the corruptness of Croatian society ,as ,by the way , it is known by every single Croatian citizen , enjoying of this film is a bitter pill , but also a satisfying one , cause all the poison is coming out in this two films - especially in Cannibal-Vegetarian.So government - i know you know - but you have to know that i know it too.

My biggest kudos are going on Rene Bitorajac - Christian Bale should learn from you.

Cannibal Vegetarian is the second movie that was created based on the book of well-known Croatian writer Ivo Balenovic. The first movie, which was created based on the books Metastases earned the title of one of the best modern Croatian movies.

I expected this movie will repeat or at least closer to such a success, but I remained disappointed. The story is fragmented, with no real flow. The main actor Rene Bitorajac, does not look convincing in the role of problematic of real ending, a climax. The only positive surprise in the movie is soundtrack. All in all, watchable if you are interested in Croatian movies. The book is far better.

Thought I wold give this one a try. I wish I had not.

The pace of the movie is at fast forward through the whole thing, it snaps from scene to scene in incoherent leaps. The who's who and what's what takes you most of the first hour to get. The last 20 minutes is just a mess, and then its over. There seems to be no point or message, and when the movie ends it just ends, without any real ending. I'm miss context and substance, and I must say, the acting is mediocre at its best.

I could pick and poke at this flick for pages and pages on, but I'll leave it at that.

Unless you are especially interested in Croatian film; give this one a miss, it just ain't worth it!

cold picture about a kind of Julien Sorel. ambiguous end. interesting acting. result - a cold, gray image from East. it is a film about success. about appearances, ways to obtain it, about lost of conscience, more a parable than pure adaptation. Rene Bitorajac does a splendid job as the doctor of the present moment, materialistic, cynical, cruel in strange manner, selfish and victim of a circle who, at first sigh, protect him.but it is not a film about illusions. only about a form of survive who reminds others films from East - the Romanians are only an example - for present a too honest, direct picture of reality in a kind of naturalism as revenge against the Communist regime ideological pressure. a film from East. who reminds the presence of demons from many of its viewers.