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Reviews
Cefurji raus! (2013)
Unbelievably real!
Based on a novel which won the highest national cultural award, the story of young Marko is not a comedy, but a many-sided drama. I admit my skepticism when I heard about making it into a film – since the quality of the novel is not just its story, but also the way it is told: the language and the little details transform the tragic outline into a pure literary delight.
If you experienced the uneasiness of the relations between immigrants and "natives": it makes you choose sides and you rarely get the chance to really experience the world from the other's point of view. It was the same case for me – after being annoyed with the southern "čefurs" in the elementary school, our ways parted after it and went on our separate tracks, never to meet again. I completely forgot about them, and Goran's book a few years ago shook up my comfortable little world. I finally understood why were those guys calling us names and constantly nagging in the classroom; why they admired their annoying music and were only interested in sports.
Back to the movie version: it keeps the narrator from the book, enabling the viewer to see the story from his point of view. And despite the fact that it's fiction, it remains completely realistic – you keep thinking these are the exact same words a "čefur" would use in such situation, this is the exact way he would react. You see them, guys from your town, coming alive on the big screen. And you were never this close to them.
The performance of the lead actor is astonishing (or maybe I'm just not used to see such a performance from a Slovenian actor) – the story is told through his eyes and when the plot thickens you do not merely feel FOR him, you feel WITH him. Which is a feeling I rarely get when watching films. Sincerely, thank you Goran for this touching insight. Hvala ti!
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Not a hit, but definitely epic
If Jackson and the guys wanted to make a hit out of the Hobbit, they should had considered making only one movie instead of a trilogy. This stretching of the material would probably drive away many viewers - even if the special effects are better than ever. But what I liked in this "Unespected Journey" (long expected for me, at least) was it's attention to detail. Not just the story, the characters and the landscape - also the things that are rarely visible in a fictional film. What caught my attention was - the music.
Not just the basic soundtrack, but the actual performing within the story. Especially the dwarf songs (the first, happy one, and the second - Over the misty mountain cold - since I've always been a big fan of Richard Armitage - BTW, I was thrilled when it was announced he'd take the role of Thorin). I guess all the singing might seem boring to an average viewer (who is used of Transformers and such action films), but to me it was a medium who brought the epic dimension in this movie. And as a contrast - the elves with their sophisticated and peaceful instruments. I hope there will be a lot more of that in the sequels.
The only thing bothering me were the references on the LotR. I mean, we've all seen the movies, probably just recently (because of the big expectations for the Hobbit) and it's really annoying to watch the same characters - especially Saruman and Galadriel - saying these long and boring lines (which are in no way important to this particular story). I mean, in this time they could show a bit more of dwarfs and their conversations and jokes. After all, it's based on a children's' story.
But for the most part, An Unexpected Journey is an introduction to (what's hopefully to be) an epic journey to the Middle Earth, and the details and the serenity of the storytelling have the potential to become an incredible fairytale for all generations.