Sveto mesto

It took Mr. Kadijevic almost 20 years to bring to screen another masterwork. A great Gogol's story and a lot of style and skill. A scary stuff they (he) used to make and ,even then, so rarely. I shall see it again.

Very interesting to me, to see a film like Sveto Mesto made in 1990. My first experience of Balkan cinema (Yugoslavian to be precise), but most notably to me coming out at such a time, best known for the demise of the classic slasher era and the descent of B horror into its decade odd length slumber. With its measured pace, traditional story and lack of gore or even any blood, Sveto Mesto could almost be a relic held in amber, golden view to the thoughts and fears of a whole different generation of cinema. It is this in a way, but fortunately more too, not just some quaint throwback but a surprisingly barbed affair and as such rather intriguing. Its based on a tale by Gogol of a priest (here named Toma) in training who is summoned by a local landowner to fulfil his daughter Katarina's dying wish. As is customary, he is to wait over her body for three nights prayer, and as one might expect things do not go according to plan. Reluctant from the outset, the hero's fears are increased by various strange tales and dark revelations, and things become very troublesome indeed. It all seems like pretty standard stuff and in many ways it is, there's demonstration of the power of the lords prayer, foggy night time chills, superstition, class division and the expected boos. But Katarina, the focus of the piece is treated in a far less coy, far more modern fashion than she might have been in a film from another generation. She is a strong, confident and beautiful woman who transgresses not just class divisions but sexual mores and does so for no higher purpose than pleasure, in short beyond the notion of her as a supernatural presence she embodies the misogynistic fears of the era and its notion of witches. An interesting character then, covering the spectrum from small minded fear to genuine menace and finely essayed by the striking Branka Pujic, disarmingly sensual, compelling like the caress of a blade. She doesn't have a great deal of screen time but does great with it and happily everyone else does well in framing her performance. Dragan Jonavic is decent as Toma, grappling with fear and duty as he is drawn beyond his limits, Aleksandar Bercek makes for a good creepy local elite and various rustic types give the right mixture of stoicism and unease. There's good atmosphere throughout and some interesting jolts, but the structure is a little too conventional and the fearful scenes often a little too low key in presentation for the film to really leap out, especially the slightly fudged finale, but nonetheless its decent viewing and well worth a watch for anyone interested in period spooky tales or Eastern European horror.

I was very surprised to see the quality and effectiveness of this 1990. horror movie from Serbia. This is a genuine showcase of how the horror movie should be made. It has a strong story and character development, solid and in some times lustrous acting, creepy atmosphere and music, through all the movie (thanks to brilliant music score of Serbian late keyboardist Laza Ristovski).

The greatest thing about this movie is that there is no innocent person in this story (probably, likewise in real life). Everyone has his own dark secret... evil inside, that needs to be revealed. The same case is with the main character, too... Who is a priest BTW.

The main horror scenes are incredibly creepy and give you shivers in a spine. There is no blood, no torturing (besides mind torturing), no dismemberment of bodies... but, believe me, for a true horror fan, it will make a lasting impression.

There are more very good Serbian horrors like this one to be seen. For curious worldwide horror fans I recommend - Leptirica, Variola Vera and Davitelj protiv davitelja. They are lucid and interesting... Well, at least on a Serbian way.

I do recommend another older Russian version of this movie, too. It's called Viy, like the Gogol's novel. It has its own qualities, on a different way from the Serbian version.

On the end, for Serbia, this is remarkable horror movie!

I've not seen much of the Yugoslav cinema and I'm not such deep in to that. But this movie encourages me to try more, certainly in the horror genre. It belongs to the more defined and Gothic genre of horror which unfortunately isn't that much justified in the Hollywood.

Its always a good experience to watch the visual performance of some piece of literature, and its better when the general atmosphere of the movie retains the depth or at least the mood defined by the author.Though this isn't the literary adaptation, it definitely has some real creepy scary moments. There is definitely a dark side to erotics and its done good here. The character Katrina seems fitting in the Gothic erotic. A good pick for the fans of Gothic horror.

Yugoslav cinema has produced number of great comedies and dramas, but horror movies have never been better than mediocre. It just doesn't suit mentality of Slavic people. Every movie looks and feels goofy and naive, suitable only for children and ones with that kind of sensibility. Sveto mesto, both visually and thematically, is anchored in time which has passed a long time ago. I just can't comprehend it was made in 1990.! It is bleak from every angle. Music by Lazar Ristovski is really dumb and spoils atmosphere every time it plays. There are some good/spooky moments though. Acting is nice, especially Danilo Lazovic in a supporting role. If Sveto mesto had been made in 70's, maybe it would struck a chord, but either way it feels kind of cheap. I can't recommend it, but it wouldn't hurt watching it.