Balkan film festival show Baranko Smith big masterpiece
Tittle Agape
Director Baranko Smith
Cast Goran Bogdan Marko Cicic Emir Hadzihafisbegovic Dora Dimic Rakar Danijela Beganovic
Swedish distribution Balkan film festival
Rated masterpiece
As we all remember Croatia lost the final to France in the soccer championship in Russia and it was such a pity that they were not playing well the final. Now another of my passion could I hope at least give to this little country with an old culture and interesting and beautiful people give another kind of spotlight place in the world the Oscar prize. The film that I speak is by the young veteran director Barnko Smith and it is call Agape. It is a wonderful work by the DC Dragan Ruljancic t succed in making a product that is full comparable for the colour the lighting and the contrast to the best scene in Games of Throndes shot in Dubrovnik and with a editing by Hrvoje Mrsic that with a very precise way is following the main character struggle from the workout pass in a gym to a complicate relationship with sexuality partnership and father role. The main character is Mira a reverend paly by the Bosnian actor Goran Bogdan that make quite a remarkable performance with intensity humour and also a kind of searching for love that becomes more and more exiting. I will drew a parallel between this performance and one of the most remarkable in all film history Bruno Granz as the angle in #The sky over Berlin ! by Win Wenders . Mirain is a young man that takes care about himself speak well is intelligent sensitive and rather humoristic a bit sarcastically may be but that tries to do the best for his perish and mostly for the teenager that he have to prepare for the communion. Mira is a modern and charismatic priest and in some way he remain a lot of Tom Tryon role when was the leading character in Otto Preminger the cardinal. But with a great difference there is no doubt about religion and his idea but more about the legitimate of searching for love. The love it is both the one for good and his parish and even like a father or may be a older brother to Filip very well presented by Marko Cicic a rather timid young role .this young boy will be first mobbed and that terrible assaulted by some young hooligan (Agape is also so much a film about education) . The young people are not presented in a very good way and the work done by the DP Dragan Ruljancic that master all the possibility of a Alexa cameran … ad the editor by Hrvoje Mrsic is very similar in his fast and often in dark corner as the one that is similar to the Martin Scorsese movies . There is several point of connection between Martin Scorsese or at least the movie that were related to mafia and Francis Ford Coppola in Smiths work movie over ee that the position of the Church is in this suburb populated quite much from a near rural population that comes from Slavonia or Herzegovina as that of the wise guys. The scene in which Philip that is Goran father goes to the bishop protracted very well by Ratzinger copy is similar to the one in which goes to Don Corleone. At first sight this priest living in lux’s new classic villa and his more interesting ion see a gravy that a poor father could seam so unpleased. The same is the fact that he is sounded by a priest that looks more like a parachute troops make him like a rather unchain figure but when he speaks we understand a lot of thing. The bishop play by Ivo Gregurevic suggest that Goran becomes a seminar sit the only possibility for a young gay guy to get safe in that particularly area for the Croatian society . We understand that the rather snobbish and old fashion is a kind of behaving for mash a kind for a different inner self . Like Mira an in some way even Goran the bishop in Ivo Gregurevic is a character with so many side. He is also a man of culture and tradition a man that loves his work. The same can we say about two character Duspa blya by an other Bosnian Emir Hadzihafisbegovic that is a businessman that want to build a new mall and has a big problem because his beautiful daughter Daria play by Nela Kocis g a Kosovar muslim and the gorgeous woman Dacia play by Daria Lorenci that ask the poor reverend to put a cream on his back. It is rather important to see that reverend mira actullay is himself seduced by a angle Gabriel play by Pavle Cemerikic a young man that remain even more that Björn Adre of Tanzio in Thomas Mann and Luchino Visconti wonderful and decadent “detrh in venice”. But if Tanzio was more small presented Gabriel is really cold without marcy and a kind of boyish fame fatale. We see already how is relationship with the worst “bitch” in town Stella wonderful portrait by Dora Dimic Rakar is already knowing everything. One can only observe that even in the Gospel the angel Gabriel is far from a positive character. But Branko Schmidt is too much a capable director to present a negative character but instead focus to a kind of wounded person like Sandra the reverend sister play by Danijela Beganovic. She seems a really not niece a, strict and even racist woman but also a still young and attractive girl that has renunciation to a life only to be the priest sister. I think that before I die a lot of film’s scene would be seen by my eyes and two of them are surely how Sandra try to consulate Mira and the meeting in a rather abandoned railway juriction by Mira and Gabriel. Under his say in Stockholm the maestro Branko Smith that is going to produce a Swedish creation cooperation has accepted to answer to some question. In this niece chat even his wonderful and sympathetic producer Stanislav Babic has acceted to answer to my question. Here you have them
Could you maestro Smith and dear producer Stanislav Babic presents the situation for the Croatian film industry?
Smith Politic penetrate in the independence of the cinema. We have the best result over in one year we had film in a lot of festival. They promote nothing the protect heritage in Croatian we want to destroy or bather they want to destroy everything. It was a way to change thing. I don’t know what was in the mind we will fight for our independence. We will try to support our best for our culture
Babic it was quite good but we are a small nation with a lot of problem the first one is the fact that we have few independent cinema and the cinema ‘s ticket are rather expensive as well. Now we are started to get more and more cooperation with other nation in our region .
Is it a question of censoring in your country ?
Branko they will to control the decision maker. Few year ago i was a part of the system but they could penetrate the president come in working inside there is a new question of money we have lees and less money for the project even in the communist time we get bather. We know we have different languages but we don’t need subtitle an we have to support each other. We got money from Croatian, Bosnian and may be also Serbian. I hope also to have Swedish support. This festival is important for us to survive the brain watch of reality TV.
Could you tell as a producer the problems in the production?
My problem start and finish only with money we are a small country every year less and less money but producing is higher but with the same support. We have to find co producer. We know each other now we must go out and look into the European union we hope to take the European union found Euro Image. Without a million euro. I have to fight for it we should try.
Balkan film festival is to make bridge and collaboration we would like to find a reaching point. We are trying yo make it
How may movie par year in croatina
Producer ut deens six to ten movie we have a risk to have no budget we are headless and this would be a really big fight.
About stories do you have enough stoeris?
Branko I think yes we have a lot of inspiration from them that would be the sureces we have much more stoies that money. They would like to have a box office. We have only in Zagber two old cinema. We were forced to defend with demostation and old cinema it is a niece cinema.
Do you have question about the idea on woman in the cinema
Sara there are many girl editor and producer but few film get finance we have a really low procent of woman. Slovenia have a law that one film should be directed buy a woman. It is emacipated but it is really difficult. Is it niece to be a young autor? Many more mature are coming back there is a question of equality and justice or injustice. There is to may great author there is difficlue
Brako we organise a europena conference about woman in film we bought some procent we see and collect new money every year in two week.
Sara it is a genre and considerate club we have to fight more space in general-
How is the situation with the TV channel and an eventual support to the local movie ?
Branko I work in the Croatian television the year ago they supported the all production now they only prepaid we have right to show them. All the television with brow cast they must participate they pay two and half million euro. They make coproduction but now they have decide to stopped it
Could you have place in that organisation ?
Branko before yes now it is confusion who will make decision we don’t have change to make it film nation we had the official program- we had so may great year and now in berlin we have one or two coproduction. Those film travel all around the world.
Barnko now we have minority before we were the biggest of them..
There is focus the coming year everything will passed from this. Yugoslavia was film power. Under Tito time that had the film star in Pola. Now they prefer soccer. over the movie Agape but Nowhere will be an Swedish movie from Norrkoping it will be shown in it. Agape is a great Croatian movie agae is a history about love that the media translate at paedophilia but it is not that . media tale things quite easily they but a tittle
This is not the first time you took forbidden direction wy did you made this movie?
Agape is my 11 film first movie was in 1988 during communism I was 31 I said that fascism and communism was the same. It was really uninspected ll. That I read I was a fascist I was arrest in Split. I was even torture for it. I had a fascist label. After that movie when I said how easy I put the labour this priest is different and you will have a labour and something would be different from other. That was something how the priest become suspicion he was different we tslk about labour. Now they say I’m a communist. This is the main subject of that movie. This is more about my life and how I become a communist.
How took the Croatian public?
The critic like it the church made a form of boycott nobody we were forced to arrange a church my producer was forced to spend with all money for build ne an inside Church. Bad timing in the cinema. I satisfy so I’m quite glad. Vegetarian Canibal won was it easy to collaborate with i have a karma that may be is bad to do it the last 3 films were extremely problematic. It was really expensive I had to build a Church. We asked few time but I didn’t get any answer. We are in a new project.
What kind of camera did you used for the shooting?
Branko We shoot in Alexa resolution toka e usually use in the digital area. The priest play by Goran Bogdan is extremely popular and won for this movie the biggest national award. The critic gave also their prize he is a big star a Bosnian and also in Serbian and won even in Lecce in Italy. The other actor are popular we took to main boy actor that were Serbian but born in Kosovo. This guys play ven in Enclave that was a big success.
The casting wasn’t s difficult?
Branko I took that guy for the priest. We had a shooting in Belgrade. The casting was really easy. With teenager they discover things. They had a lot of fun
One actor was from Kosovo we had problem with the visa and I’m a communist. As a young member we have a lot of problem. More that 300 went to the weste irland and Germany. This is a really big problem the biggest reason is not economic they don’t see the future. I try to say why it is happen. I will be arrested. The same problem is typical in the reason.
How will people react?
I like to make complicate movie so I like it,
What about Stockholm?
It is really niece city and people and I hope a niece co producer we will make anew communist film I hope we will have money even in Sweden. And the Euro image e the money is a difficult project. The next film is about the diaspora of Young Croatian people that have to leave Croatia for working in Germany , Scandinavia and also in Eire . I think that the main isure is not economy but rather a luck of future and a deep not trust to the social political situation.
Robert Fogelberg Rota