Film Review: Fine Dead Girls (Fine mrtve djevojke, 2002)
Right timing can do wonders for films, and that includes even Croatian cinema. Two decades ago Croatia, still not being admitted to NATO and EU, tried very hard to give impression of being “proper” Western country and openly embraced almost everything associated with everything “hip” and “progressive” in the West, including issues that used to be taboo in previous decades. Director Dalibor Matanić explored one of those issues in his 2002 drama Fine Dead Girls just as it suddenly embroiled Croatian society into culture war.
Protagonists are Iva (played by Olga Pakalović) and Marija (played by Nina Violić), two students who rent apartment in Zagreb. Although everyone at first seems to be thrilled with arrival of new neighbours, Iva and Marija soon discover dark side of their neighbourhood. One of the neighbours is half-crazed war veteran who beats his wife and plays patriotic songs in the middle of the night; another neighbour is retired old man who hides his wife’s body in freezer in order to collect her pension; one neighbour is young prostitute and the is doctor who performs illegal abortions on Catholic nuns. The most vicious of them all is their landlord Olga (played by Inge Appelt) who doesn’t hide that she would love to see Iva married to her son Danijel (played by Krešimir Mikić). She doesn’t know that such idea is far from reality, because Iva and Marija happen to be lesbian lovers. When this secret is revealed, most of neighbours reveal their true faces, causing series of incidents that would escalate with tragic consequences.
Fine Dead Girls had its premiere roughly month after first Zagreb Pride and, following public debates and violent incidents that accompanied the event, enjoyed a lot of publicity due to its depiction of same-sex relationship. It is sometimes stated that it was first such film in history of Croatian cinema (although Handcuffs, celebrated 1969 Yugoslav Black Wave film by Krsto Papić can also fit such criteria). In any case, Matanić’s film triumphed at Pula Film Festival, winning Golden Arena, Croatian top national film award. Jury and most of the critics were quite sympathetic because Matanić have taken clear side in the debate, even abandoning sentiments displayed in his previous film Cashier Wants to Go to the Seaside which had painted his native Zagreb as enlightened Mitteleuropean city whose all problems stem from rural and unrefined newcomers from more Balkan-like areas of Croatia and its neighbourhood. Fine Dead Girls depicts Zagreb and its citizens just as bigoted and intolerant as anyone else.
Fine Dead Girls is actually better than Matanić’s previous film, which is due to simpler genre identification. It is straight drama instead of social drama being advertised as populist comedy. Matanić also shows that he improved his directing skills and he enjoys good cast, most notably Olga Pakalović and Nina Violić in main roles, supported by veterans like Inge Appelt and Ivica Vidović who plays Olga’s husband. Characters are well drawn and Matanić, at least for the most part, seems to find proper balance between keen social observation, tragedy and gallows humour. Unfortunately, somewhere near the end Matanić decides to add deus ex machina happy ending, which suddenly makes his film less convincing. The ending also shows problems with pacing and some scenes being thrown into film only to provide feature format. Fine Dead Girls nevertheless served its historic purpose, allowing debates about certain topics to start. And even without its historic context it could be judged as more than watchable piece of cinema.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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