New Author Film Festival www.faf.rs in Belgrade Serbia screened Croatian film “Kino Lika”. This time it is praised and brand new film by younger generation Croatian film director Dalibor Matanic. The film awarded in Montpellier really have captured attention of well known Belgrade’s film critics was already screened at 14 Sarajevo Film Festival and Pula Film Festival and ever since it won a loads of attention and by now it has been shown in Belgrade Cinema. This is a fifth feature by Dalibor Matanic and it is quite different from the other films he made.("Cashier Wants to Go to the Seaside, Fine Dead Girls, 100 Minutes of Glory, I Love You”).The story is based on the collection of stories by Croatian immigrant Damir Karakas.

It is set in an isolated Croatian village and is a truly grotesque drama. “…Cinema Lika’s based on novel by the same title by Damir Karakas. That is definitely my innermost film so far. The majority of my family originates from that region and I hope that we will accomplish a small film step forward.” (Matanic)

The film follows three characters and their daily problems and it seems that it has a hidden intention to invites and disgust in order to shock. Having very little empathy for his characters, the film is pretty difficult to follow, unless you are based in Croatia and faintly know what kind of village people on Balkan are. These characters are obviously victims of their own small communities and even so this film has another hidden message. There's no deny it has something to say about Croatia's turbulent past and current isolation and insularity. Maybe author wanted to point out at Pasolini. However, here Matanic successfully visually tweaks the atmosphere of human weakness, malice, fear and lack of love with tricks. Very likely he wanted to limit film’s travel to the festivals. And this is what it is, a real festival film. Other Matanic’s films were also a television films, but this one might meant intentionally only for festival audience.

In short this is a story about Mike (Kresimir Mikic), local village's football player, who accidentally kills his mother before his test for a foreign football team, something that captures most of the attention. Then other characters fall into the story. Prob most remember character is sexual overweight cashier Olga (Areta Curkovic) that offer some of the most uncomfortable moments, including a too long masturbation scene edited for a sake of having a bit of the laughs. Rejected by various men, Olga ultimately resorts to lying down with pigs. Something that intentionally went too far. Then miserably made up peasant Joso (Ivo Gregurevic), with his wife (Jasna Zalica) and their son who nearly dying of a mysterious thirst, which is probably a try to emphasizes the strangeness and malice.

And to confirm this author claims that “…I am just hoping for the time that is needed to tell as many film stories about the crazy life which surrounds us and which we are living in. All my movies talk about the violation of humanity, human weakness, and abandonment of people. They tell us about all the malice that people can conceive of, about hate, fear and certainty... and lack of love.” (Matanic)