Zagreb's Kino Kinoteka this week offers a rare opportunity for everyone to enjoy the very best in new Croatian cinema. The independent cinema holds some of Croatia's most inventive and passionately put together film programmes, and this series showcasing four exceptional new Croatian films is no exception.
The programme begins on Tuesday 5 February with 'All Alone' (Sam Samcat). Divorced father Marko leads a life full of people, family, friends and neighbours. But although his life is full, it is not fulfilled, as the one person who is absent from his life is the one he cares for most, his daughter. His attempts to secure visitation rights leads him into conflict with the nightmarish beaurocratic system of social services.
On Wednesday 6 February, 'What A Country!' is a farce about a suicidal general, a minister in the Croatian government who voluntarily locks himself inside a prison cell and four pensioners who steal the coffin of the late Croatian president (with his body still inside). An extremely funny movie, in regards to its ridiculousness being all too believable, it is perhaps comparable to Armando Iannucci's 'The Death of Stalin'
On Thursday 7 February we get the proposed Croatian entry for Best Foreign Language Film at The Oscars, 'The Eighth Commissioner' (pictured). This film is in parts hilariously funny and quite heartwarming and follows a scandal hit Zagreb politician who is dispatched to an island to establish an elecoral process. Among the many laugh-out-loud moments in this movie are the actions and reactions of the islanders to this politician and his attempted process, plus the politician being absolutely bewildered by the islanders' bizarre and hilarious accent.
On Friday 8 February the series comes to a close with 'For The Good Old Times' Two childhood friends grapple with the choices that lead to the full adulthood they are perhaps not yet ready for. Set against a backdrop of a country transitioning from Communism to capitalism and overseas opportunities, the film asks if their friendship can survive the choices each of the friends makes.
All films start at 8pm and entry is just 20 kuna.