Jurica Pavičić:
"GENERAL"
A confusing, declamatory film in which all the characters speak the director’s columnistic observations in a logorrheic manner; and the main characters is profiled somewhere in between sanctimonious hagiography and socialist-realism of the Soviet 1930s.
"WHAT A COUNTRY!"
One can tell it was done by a skilled director, but the film as a whole suffers from an over-complicated theme and a stretch of a connection among the three subplots.
"ALL ALONE"
A simple, but masterfully directed micro drama showing family as prison in which one can be lonely in a crowd. By far the best Croatian live-action film in 2018/2019
"THE LAST SERB IN CROATIA", directed by Predrag Ličina
Ličina's film has the most important virtue for a comedy: it is really fun.
"F20", directed by Arsen Anton Ostojić
Croatian thrillers are a rare occurrence, and should be supported; but F20 suffers from serious clumsiness in term of the screenplay.
"EXTRACURRICULAR", directed by Ivan-Goran Vitez
A part thriller, part comedy, the film does not fully meet the requirements for any of the two genres. It lacks suspense to be a thriller, and humour to be a comedy.
"THE DIARY OF DIANA B", directed by Dana Budisavljević
A live action-documentary hybrid is dangerous and full of traps. The director has avoided all of them. This is a film so rigorous and pure that, luckily, it can’t serve any ideological manipulation.
"MY GRANDPA IS AN ALIEN", directed by Marina Andree Škop, Dražen Žarković
Good production, effects, and animated parts. A solid film for children, but lacking in humour and other elements to attract the parents as well.
Marko Njegić:
"GENERAL", directed by Antun Vrdoljak
Croatian (cinema) of the nineties, in text and picture. Long Dark Night, only more glamourous. There is too much television (Tv drama, soap opera) and theatre, and not enough film as such. Too much ideology and philosophy, too little characterisation (figure) and action (fame).
"WHAT A COUNTRY!", directed by Vinko Brešan
An imbalanced, but a good and important film. In cinemas, it fell a victim of marketing. What a Country! is a drama that has been marketed as a comedy. On the surface, another Brešan’s social- political subversion, but underneath, something more (or in this case, less).
"ALL ALONE", directed by Bobo Jelčić
A worthy successor to A Stranger, All Alone is one of the better and better directed Croatian films in the last festival/cinema seasons. Bobo Jelčić skilfully balances the personal and social drama by keeping the focus on the Croatian family today, here and now.
"THE LAST SERB IN CROATIA", directed by Predrag Ličina
“Do you know what it is like to be a Serb in Croatia?”, said a poster of a political partly recently. Whether the film is visionary or not, whether it hesitates between serious satire and frivolous trash, time plays into Predrag Ličina’s hands at the expense of the shit, excuse me, the situation in Croatia.
"F20", directed by Arsen Anton Ostojić
An attempt at a different film within Croatian film has presented new faces (actresses Romina Tonković, Lana Ujević), and is torn between youth drama and psychological horror thriller. It is much better in its first half, before the dark(er) side breaks through to the surface.
"EXTRACURRICULAR", Ivan-Goran Vitez
It is not easy to reconcile a tense thriller and a black comedy. Different genres don’t always mix in Extracurricular, but director Vitez, it seems, focused most on getting the social commentary in. He has succeeded in that, and has sent the Croatian society back behind school desks.
"THE DIARY OF DIANA B", Dana Budisavljević
One of the most touching recent Croatian films astonishes with archive footage and captivates with directorial/acting composure and soberness in approaching the topic. The live action-documentary film The Diary of Diana B is a quiet, dignified, and above all important film for Croatian cinema.
"MY GRANDPA IS AN ALIEN", Marina Andrea Škop and Dražen Žarković
The eighties are, in terms of film, more popular than ever (Stranger Things, Bumblebee), and My Grandpa Is an Alien is the closest any Croatian film has got to celebrating that particular era of film. A solid attempt at (re)creating an Amblin-like sci-fi adventure film for children, the Croatian way.
Milena Zajović:
"THE DIARY OF DIANA B", directed by Dana Budisavljević
An important film, a film Croatian society needs, shocking and in no way pathetic, which tells a story straddling live action reconstruction, archival material, and documentary footage to create an impressive whole in which the muted, but palpable emotion of the great Alma Prica stands out.
"EXTRACURRICULAR", directed by Ivan-Goran Vitez
The most conventional film by Ivan-Goran Vitez, in which one can still see his signature work, eludes genre definitions, but is memorable in the harsh criticism of the anomalies of our everyday lives. Milivoj Beader is a great choice for the lead role, and Zlatko Kićo Burić shines in the supporting role.
"GENERAL", directed by Antun Vrdoljak
This inept work of the known director is a response to the need of a portion of Croatian public for a film offering a romanticised story about the heroes of the Homeland War, but, unfortunately, it offers no artistic value.
"F20", directed by Arsen Anton Ostojić
The high score the audience has given the film by Arsen Anton Ostojić proves that Croatian cinema needs more genre films and stepping away from the same old topics. Despite the writing issues, the film seems much more serious and luxurious than what could have been expected from the modest budget.
"WHAT A COUNTRY!", directed by Vinko Brešan
Vinko Brešan and Mate Matišić, masters of political satire, have presented a film that sounds better when it is retold than when it is watched: despite superior miniatures, the transition from comedy to tragedy somewhere at the half-way point, the film loses direction and is somewhat irritating in that it wants to overexplain all of the arguments.
"THE LAST SERB IN CROATIA", directed by Predrag Ličina
Mocking the tumours of Croatian society, the long-awaited debut film by Predrag Ličina is overloaded with jokes, which becomes rather cumbersome already after the first third of the film. However, the film manages to remain unpretentious, silly in a geeky kind of way, and in some moments almost scandalous. This is one of the films with lines we will be quoting for a long time
