Cuvari noci (2008)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Namik Kabil

Writer:

Namik Kabil (written by)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Mahir is married to Geraldine for three years and still they have no children. So Mahir becomes convinced that he is pregnant. From that moment, he keeps throwing up.

Cast

Vahid Piralic	...	Mahir
Milan Pavlovic	...	Brizla
Haris Alic	...	Policajac
Namik Kabil	...	Specijalac
Alban Ukaj	...	Pekar
Belma Lizde-Kurt	...	Zeraldina
Mediha Musliovic	...	Senada

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Language:

Bosnian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Filming Locations:

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Company:

Sarajevo Centre for Contemporary Arts

Bed, bath and beyond night-shift in Sarajevo

A department store has closed for the day. It's time for night security to begin its patrol. The bed furniture floor is looked after by the young Mahir. Bath furnishings by middle-aged Brizla.

Just beyond the street-level glass doors of the main entrance is an apartment building. On a second floor apartment lives Specijalac, a borderline insane insomniac that is about to spend the night either smoking on a bench facing the department store or playing martial music and drinking beer on a small veranda.

What does this trio bring to the film? Not a lot that could contribute to a story. In fact there is no story. You are about to spend a night with those fellas. Nothing more. Close to ninety minutes of your time.

Are they at least interesting characters? Not really. Mahir is suffering from a momentary virus that is giving him a belly-ache that he relieves with warm compresses. He spends time on the phone with his girlfriend. I guess she also suffers from insomnia.

Brizla is trying to lose weight without success. He's also a follower of a self-help guru whose tapes he listens in between patrol rounds. Similarly to Mihar, he is a taciturn man. Probably the result of or a cause for working in a deserted place while the rest of society sleeps.

The oddball figure is Specijalac. From his perch on the small veranda of his small apartment he vociferates against society. Does he have post-traumatic syndrome disease from the Bosnia-Serbia war?

The interest the film generates in the viewer comes not from the characters and what you learn about them. It comes from the setting, the cinematography, naturalistic minimalist acting and bits of deadpan humor. The well laid out furniture sets and the lines of bathroom fixtures make for a curiously homely feeling without it being a residence. The characters feel at home in that environment. Mahir lays on a bed to watch a portable TV. Brizla reads a book seating in a dry jacuzzi. It's their kingdom for the night. It's also a visual playground for the camera. The director makes good use of wide format to frame objects.

The overall result is an odd film that is not completely satisfying but is still able to hold one's attention