Breza

"Breza" is a poetic slow and mostly silent movie about life of the people living in the village in Croatia. The main theme is love or lack of love between Janica, girl of unusual beauty, and Marko, man with mustaches who has already broken many of women's hearts. And Janica's heart is yet to be broken. How could she as the only Breza in the wood survive this lack of love and the cruel inhabitants of the village. the main point is how something so special and so unique can be destroyed by society and misunderstanding. Film is great pictured, photography is perfect, every shot is a small master-piece. The film is pictured in the style of naive painters and it has that kind of atmosphere.

Set in a remote village in the earlier years of the previous century, this is a sensitive and slow moving film very similar to Italian neo-realist films such as Ermanno Olmi's "Tree of Wooden Clogs". Filmed on location, and mostly with local rural people who are not professional actors, it documents (in a most convincing and authentic way) a time when Christian faith and ancient folklore intermingled in the the minds of peasants struggling to scrape a meagre living from the land, bearing their hardships and illnesses with a sufferant acceptance.

It documents a short period in the life of the village during which two funerals and two weddings take place, and it inter-cuts images from these events to emphasise the fragility of human life, how quickly beauty and pleasure pass, and how we are caught up in the pace, demands and pleasures of life, and only seldomly, often too late, have the time and inclination to reflect on what is really important.

This is a dark movie and it takes you to a place of unease. But it's worth it!

A satire of the traditional peasant mentality set in north Croatia in 1920-ties. The author of the story, Croatian master of satire SLAVKO KOLAR, originally wrote it as tragicomedy, but the film doesn't show much of comedy. Only tragedy remains. Creepy and a bit surreal landscape in the background only enhances dark feelings. Contrast between tragic protagonists and hypocritical traditional customs of the villagers is truthfully conveyed. The way the director showed social relations, rituals, ancient folklore (even witchcraft) that makes the fiber of Croatian peasant society, made a lasting impression on me.

If you know someone who want's to learn something about Slavic cultural heritage, be free to recommend them this small masterpiece. I recommend it especially to those viewers of similar cultural background, Poles, Slovenes, Slovaks, Czechs, West Ukrainians... all those Slavs whose countries used to be a part of Austro-Hungarian Empire. Of course, others are welcome too.

There are simply too many motives and interesting characters to analyze here in detail.

Croatian cinematography at it's best!

10/10 and a big respect to the director, Ante Babaja!!!