"An eternal student" was a very common phenomenon in communist Yugoslavia. University education was free, limitless, what encouraged many students to take advantage by studying for years and years, sometimes even decades. Some others did manage to acquire diplomas, but their lifestyle never really surpassed college habits. "Tajvanska Kansta" is a story of one such man, Sasa Belopoljanski, whose life revolves around unfulfilled artistic ambitions and a spent youth rebellious spirit.
1968. was a turbulent year around the world, with many young people all over Europe standing up and demanding social reform. Protests in France and Germany were particularly fierce, while the wave of rebellion reached even Yugoslavia. Back in the day this was a firmly communist society, and though it was more liberal and well standing than the rest of Soviet bloc, putting the communist values under question was not acceptable by any means. And so, when the students began protesting and barricading Belgrade University, state leaders got a nasty thorn in the eye. Police intervened brutally while the city was in a state of emergency. As time passed the verve began to loosen, negotiations began, while eventually president Tito acknowledged the students' demands, protest were dissolved and life continued to go on in Yugoslavian socialist paradise as nothing happened.
Sasa Belopoljanski (played by Boris Komnenic) is a classic case of an unfulfilled identity. He has no work, marriage is falling apart, he lives with his parents and desperately tries to extend his 1968. revolutionary dream in the mid 1980s, when no one even remembers or cares for the old days. By profession an architect but without a single day of working experience, Sasa spends time in attempts to promote his modern art work, but does it sloppy and continues to fail along the way. That is until he teams up with a shady group of people with even shadier job opportunities. Naive as he is, Belopoljanski jumps in, believing that the time has come for his architectural talent to shine. Boy is he wrong...
"Tajvanska Kanasta" is a social comedy. Although it is humorous, many of the facts were actual and very relevant in Yugoslav society at the time, just as they are today. It was probably the best performance of Boris Komnenic's career and one of Goran Markovic's brightest spots. Unfortunately, this is also a fine example of a horrible technical outcome. While the script, direction and acting were on the level, quality of photography, editing, lab work and sound are just plain awful. Still, if You put aside the skinny visual impression, "Tajvanska Kanasta" is a very decent flick worth watching.
1968. was a turbulent year around the world, with many young people all over Europe standing up and demanding social reform. Protests in France and Germany were particularly fierce, while the wave of rebellion reached even Yugoslavia. Back in the day this was a firmly communist society, and though it was more liberal and well standing than the rest of Soviet bloc, putting the communist values under question was not acceptable by any means. And so, when the students began protesting and barricading Belgrade University, state leaders got a nasty thorn in the eye. Police intervened brutally while the city was in a state of emergency. As time passed the verve began to loosen, negotiations began, while eventually president Tito acknowledged the students' demands, protest were dissolved and life continued to go on in Yugoslavian socialist paradise as nothing happened.
Sasa Belopoljanski (played by Boris Komnenic) is a classic case of an unfulfilled identity. He has no work, marriage is falling apart, he lives with his parents and desperately tries to extend his 1968. revolutionary dream in the mid 1980s, when no one even remembers or cares for the old days. By profession an architect but without a single day of working experience, Sasa spends time in attempts to promote his modern art work, but does it sloppy and continues to fail along the way. That is until he teams up with a shady group of people with even shadier job opportunities. Naive as he is, Belopoljanski jumps in, believing that the time has come for his architectural talent to shine. Boy is he wrong...
"Tajvanska Kanasta" is a social comedy. Although it is humorous, many of the facts were actual and very relevant in Yugoslav society at the time, just as they are today. It was probably the best performance of Boris Komnenic's career and one of Goran Markovic's brightest spots. Unfortunately, this is also a fine example of a horrible technical outcome. While the script, direction and acting were on the level, quality of photography, editing, lab work and sound are just plain awful. Still, if You put aside the skinny visual impression, "Tajvanska Kanasta" is a very decent flick worth watching.
