Odgrobadogroba is a small, easy watchable movie if you know what to expect from it. First, it is Slovenian, therefore European and by no means alike Hollywood production. (It is in fact a Slovenian-Croatian co-production, but I can see nothing Croatian in it, except maybe the fact that, similar to many Croatian movies, you laugh during the movie, but there's no happy-end when it's over.) Second, this is not a coherent story easy to follow, you have to keep your attention to the screen to understand it. Not a movie for relax, for pleasure, it was meant for art-movie admirers.
Jan Cvitkovic, both as the writer and the director, shows more interest in characters than in the story. That makes even smallest supporting roles equally interesting and complete as the main ones. Each of them has his/her own story, destiny, past, present and future. However, that makes the main story diverse in so many directions that it becomes hard to follow them, and finally you lose the idea which one is the main story at all. The sooner you accept that the movie is more a gallery of characters than a story to be told, the more you'll enjoy it. And once the story concentrates on few main characters you won't feel cheated by seeing the others suddenly neglected, because they have been described, you have their image, their personality and fate, and that was all that was intended from the start.
The small objection: if the movie focuses on characters, than the relations between them should be more clear, more obvious, not left to be guessing them till the end. If so, we would understand their stories even better.
*** SPOILER (END OF THE MOVIE) *** Some people say that the rape scene is too violent, especially for a comedy. First, this movie is not a comedy, it is a drama with some humor, and even if we categorize it as a comedy, it is a dark one, and rape is definitely a very, very dark thing. Second, any rape that is shown as fun, something to laugh about, justifies the act and its perpetrators, makes it acceptable for another ones to do it, and is an insult for all rape victims. (Besides, apart from being realistic, I don't see this scene so cruel, so violent, so disturbing compared to many others seen on screen.) As for the end, it would be better if the movie ended when the last track of light disappeared in the buried car. But if the director wanted to make one more scene (as he did), then there was no need for the car scene to be so long. Only if the following scene was a very strong one, either containing a twist, some explanation or some message, it would justify its existence; unfortunately it adds nothing to the story or characters.
*** END OF THE SPOILER *** But these few weaknesses shouldn't induce second thoughts about watching the movie if your taste isn't limited to Hollywood, and if you found my first two paragraphs intriguing and promising.
Jan Cvitkovic, both as the writer and the director, shows more interest in characters than in the story. That makes even smallest supporting roles equally interesting and complete as the main ones. Each of them has his/her own story, destiny, past, present and future. However, that makes the main story diverse in so many directions that it becomes hard to follow them, and finally you lose the idea which one is the main story at all. The sooner you accept that the movie is more a gallery of characters than a story to be told, the more you'll enjoy it. And once the story concentrates on few main characters you won't feel cheated by seeing the others suddenly neglected, because they have been described, you have their image, their personality and fate, and that was all that was intended from the start.
The small objection: if the movie focuses on characters, than the relations between them should be more clear, more obvious, not left to be guessing them till the end. If so, we would understand their stories even better.
*** SPOILER (END OF THE MOVIE) *** Some people say that the rape scene is too violent, especially for a comedy. First, this movie is not a comedy, it is a drama with some humor, and even if we categorize it as a comedy, it is a dark one, and rape is definitely a very, very dark thing. Second, any rape that is shown as fun, something to laugh about, justifies the act and its perpetrators, makes it acceptable for another ones to do it, and is an insult for all rape victims. (Besides, apart from being realistic, I don't see this scene so cruel, so violent, so disturbing compared to many others seen on screen.) As for the end, it would be better if the movie ended when the last track of light disappeared in the buried car. But if the director wanted to make one more scene (as he did), then there was no need for the car scene to be so long. Only if the following scene was a very strong one, either containing a twist, some explanation or some message, it would justify its existence; unfortunately it adds nothing to the story or characters.
*** END OF THE SPOILER *** But these few weaknesses shouldn't induce second thoughts about watching the movie if your taste isn't limited to Hollywood, and if you found my first two paragraphs intriguing and promising.