What do we know about Serbian cinema? Perhaps, only Emir Kusturica will remember the viewer - and will be very surprised when he learns that this film rich in talents lives not one gypsy idleness. Serbian filmmakers sometimes even resent their famous brother, saying that now their cinema is associated exclusively with one name. I don’t want to go into a long debate about whether Kusturica deserves such laurels (because I love his work), but judging Serbia by his films is like recognizing America by Tarantino. Stylish, funny, but far from realistic. In addition, there are a huge number of other wonderful films, one of which I will tell you about.
I'm not for nothing calling "Hadersfield" something like a Requiem according to Aronofsky's dream. Only the film itself is somewhat more mundane and close to reality, because it seems as if you are looking into a keyhole for strangers. Who are you watching? Four classmates (it is difficult to call them friends) meet after 10 years of separation. For a long time strangers to each other, they are united only by their former affiliation to the same school. The smart move of the writer: we can look closely at what four boys who were initially in the same conditions were able to achieve in 10 years.
Rasha (Goran Suslzyk)
The most talented of the four is a writer, living in an apartment with an alcoholic father (splendently performed by Joseph Tatich) because he simply does not want to change his own life. And to exist in such a world he is not comfortable, and most likely even painful. Nevertheless, an adherent of the theory of the disintegration of the world, he will still live without any initiative (how he lives) and cover it with pseudo-freedom (I want to work, I want to rest). His girlfriend is a stupid, cheeky schoolgirl (Suzana Lukic), whom he doesn’t like, and who will become the only heroine in the film to look at.
Dule (Warrior Cetkovic)
The opposite of Rashi, who, unlike him, has achieved some success in life. Of course, if success is "sitting home on weekends, eating chocolates and watching The Simpsons." Again, I can’t help but note the script’s luck – basically, the conflicts will take place between them, so different and different from each other. Everything that is good for Dule is perceived by Rasha as “consumer joys.” Indeed, how can a failed writer treat a man whose greatest grief is a ketchup-stained shirt? However, Dule is an equally unhappy man who can not be called empty - he simply covers his own despair and lostness in life with a pigoon mask.
Igor (Damyan Ketsoevich)
If Rasha and Dule brewed in their own juice at home (and even managed to visit the war), Igor safely went abroad to seek happiness there. Whether he found it is worth judging only by the audience, but what we call “well-being” he clearly gained. In a foreign country, with strangers, he lived only for the sake of having his own house, for someone to wait for him. In fact, he lived for the sake of his own small homeland, which as a result still remains alien and incomprehensible. Hadersfield is the name of the British town from which Igor came, and allegorically you can say that even from paradise you want to escape if you do not feel comfortable there.
Ivan (Nebojsa Glogovac)
The most tragic hero, which, in fact, reflects the entire fate of the unfortunate fragmented Yugoslavia. Once strong and healthy (former athlete), he loses both physical strength and moral strength due to mental illness. Life on pills, the only friend (Rash) and a harsh mother - that's the whole world of this man, who has something to say, but only listen to him no one will. He's just mentally ill, and everything he says will be taken as a joke by his classmates. Of course, for the time being. Four paths – and none was correct, which makes you think and seriously reconsider your own life positions.
The only thing I can say about the film is that it is worth watching. It is heavy, sometimes too truthful to enjoy, but it has indisputable advantages – a great deep script and subtle acting. The movie is based on the play, some actors know their role from the stage, so their every movement is natural, and you will be surprised to see new faces so bright and whole. Actors for this movie are incredibly important, but I can praise the camera work: a similar Russian cinema would be full of “black” shots, here the film is shot quite beautifully, despite the small number of scenery (theatrical past of the script requires).
I must warn you right away that Hudersfield is a movie where profanity is introduced into the rank of “spoken language”, but if you want to get a full impression of the film, then it should be watched exclusively in the original language with subtitles. This will help to catch the meaning of the film, and not to wrinkle from the endless Russian Matyuks.
If you are interested in movies that are difficult to forget later, then this movie is definitely for you. Heavy, but strong - no viewer will remain indifferent, even to tears and inner pain.
10 out of 10