F20

I've seen some praise that the film doesn't look cheap in spite of its budget not being lavish. While that is praiseworthy in theory, it becomes pretty irrelevant when the story is this bad, the characters are so stereotypical, and the acting is uneven- ranging from good performances to those that are not.

I watched "F20" twice and I do have to admit that only the second time I managed to catch all the little details to which I couldn't pay attention the first time I saw the film. At first, you are completely immersed into the story since the pacing is flawless and you don't have any time to notice, for example, the lead's character's name in the video game. Once you can focus your attention to read it and once you realize what it is, even the title of the film gets another meaning. It seems that the fimmakers paid their utmost attention to every detail, making this film one of rare European genre films that actually delivers on its promises. Once the story starts unraveling, it doesn't stop till the very end and you definitely appreciate the ride. Young leads are great, the music is awesome and the song performed in the club is really excellent.

This film strived to offer something different compared to other local films. While the genre is not typical for its country, the element of novelty wasn't present because we are all exposed to other "international" films of this genre. The intention was further nullified by the fact that the story was predictable. It was like a mishmash of things already done numerous times in other films of the genre.

The title of the film itself could be called a "spoiler" and it is elaborated immediately in the beginning but perhaps it would have been better if the meaning of the title was revealed more gradually because like this we aren't left to guess. On top of that, the film relies on coincidences a few times- sometimes so one can turn a blind eye but on some occasions it seemed too much to give it a pass. The film's target audience was teenagers, which can be proved by the fact that two local influencers were engaged to promote it. However, the screenwriter, director and producers are middle-aged men so they incorporated their assumptions about today's youth without seeming to have experience with it. Youth is portrayed as being interested in solely wild partying and wild behavior in general, plus at the same time they are all bad students.

The relations between old and young are clichéd as well and the adults are villainized in a cheap attempt to make the youth more sympathetic. Furthermore, not only was the story predictable but the dialogues were as well. And both weren't credible. The slang used by young people in the film is based on stereotypes.

The film didn't intend to be deep but pure fun, which can be acceptable, but when things are presented this badly, it doesn't succeed in at least this.

The film was promoted as bringing something fresh into Croatian cinema and it completely failed to do so. Everything was typical and actually probably done even worse than usual. It was just another Croatian film that underestimates its audience by showing absolutely every average member of society as incompetent.

After having seen quite a number of Croatian films this one came as a total surprise. I admit that I didn't expect anything new, but F20 manages to deliver strong punches and keeps you glued to your seat for the entire duration of the film. It is completely void of any standard Croatian subjects and themes, such as war, social situations, politics, etc., and tells a story of a young couple trying to escape from the city in the middle of the summer to party at a well-known party beach. Things go terribly wrong so instead of fun and games, there are dead bodies left behind and a trail of blood following them to the very end. The acting is truly excellent, especially knowing that the actors are very young. The cinematography is exquisite, as well as the directing. In my mind, one of the best parts is the music. One of the songs, sung in English by an up-and-coming band is excellent, and a real hit. This is the kind of a film that I'd gladly watch again.