Vegetarian Cannibal (2012) User Reviews

Best Croatian movie in 2012

[rejotl · 8/10 · 19 September 2012]

Movie is great but I assume Croats will like it the best. It relies mostly on great performance of all actors, especially Rene B.

There is no happy end, psycho doctor keeps on going. That is probably one of the reasons people do not like it, witch is different from the book where he is locked up in a cell.

Interesting fact is that movie is about corrupt Doctor and corruption in Hospitals but there was no reaction from representative body in Croatia. The script author was also doctor but resigned after the movie went live, very interesting.

If you have any connection to Balkans film is as "Metastaze" a must see, others maybe can pass.

Bad Medicine

[billcr12 · 7/10 · 21 September 2012]

The title has no relation to the plot of this Croation film. I would guess that something was lost in the translation.

Anyway, Rene Bitorajac plays Dr. Danko Babic, an arrogant gynecologist who is completely amoral. He manipulates patients records to cover up mistakes, and treats nurses working with him as sex objects. He becomes involved with some shady underworld types who run a strip club which doubles as a whore house. The owner is in need of a medical man to perform abortions on the girls who become pregnant at an alarming rate and Danko becomes his go to guy for the operations. A cautionary note here, as a brief dog fighting scene with Pit Bulls may put some viewers off, as will the frequent and nasty pregnancy termination shots, shown in graphic detail. This is not for the squeamish. Bitorajac is excellent as the evil doctor, surrounded by the mundane and equally corrupt physicians and police officials on the take. At one point, he bribes the pathologist to change his report to clear his obvious responsibility for a patients death; so much for the Hippocratic oath. There is no happy ending, and although it is thoroughly depressing and without any humor at all, I found it to be a realistic portrayal of human nature, with a final message of looking out for number one.

I HATE TO SAY THIS: IT'S GOOD.

[andrewchristianjr · 8/10 · 12 January 2024]

As a doctor, I can tell that Obstetrics is absolutely one of the most "challenging" specialities. This film proves it. It's hard to sit through, but once you do, it feels good idk. The story is well written and it has that sick atmosphere and disturbing throughout the entire runtime. The ending scene was so hard to watch that even my stomach started growling.

Synopsis: Meet Dr. Danko Babic. An up and coming gynecologist with a taste for the finer things in life. Though he is among the most respected in his field, he still keeps friends in low places. Babic likes blow, he likes women, and most of all he likes money. When a local mob boss who is a friend of a friend makes Babic an offer he can't refuse to "take care of" his strippers and hookers, suddenly the good doctor finds himself stumbling into a world from which there is no safe escape.

American psycho Croatian way

[bloodlust68 · 9/10 · 13 September 2012]

First of all i am Croatian , but surely i would write shitty review if this Croatian movie would suck big time. Instead i am going to write really nice review of this film which i should write also for Metastaze of the same auteur/director/lead role. For me Rene Bitorajac rocks - BIG TIMES. Sometimes ( remembering American psycho) even more than Christian Bale at his greatest moments in AP.He proved his "Madness " in Metastaze already - thank you for that Rene ! Branko Schmidt did really fine work in both Metastaze and Cannibal/ Vegetarian as well , and he proved he is one of greatest Croatian directors living today. Ivo Balenovic is story for itself.Not only he is highlight for read in newspapers he is writing for , but also his two books of witch those two films are made of are top notch. But , if situation in Croatia would not be exactly as it was shown in those two books/ films the "Punch in the face " wold not be as strong as it is . Knowing the corruptness of Croatian society ,as ,by the way , it is known by every single Croatian citizen , enjoying of this film is a bitter pill , but also a satisfying one , cause all the poison is coming out in this two films - especially in Cannibal-Vegetarian.So government - i know you know - but you have to know that i know it too.

My biggest kudos are going on Rene Bitorajac - Christian Bale should learn from you.

gynecologist from hell

[RogerB-P3RV3 · 5/10 · 19 September 2012]

It's all Rene Bitorajac show in a smirking performance as Danko Babic. A ruthless, ambitious and unscrupulous gynecologist who will do anything to get to the top of his profession including accepting bribery from patients and sabotaging other doctors reputation through mischievous methods. He is in bed with corrupt cops and local thugs to falsify medical conditions just for the money. Like the famous Madonna song, Danko is a material guy and he is living in a material world.

But the sh*t is about to hit the fan for the good doctor when the chicken come home to roost in shape of sloppy malpractices and investigation into his conduct by both the clinic and later the police. In particular when he starts performing dangerous abortions on sex workers owned by a dangerous criminal. But does Danka even care about the consequences or feel remorse at all? The answer is left to the viewers to decide.

Paints an unflattering view of Croatian professionals in general. Doctors are depicted as either corrupt or inconsiderate folks worrying more about lawsuits than about the patient. Nurses are portrayed as equal opportunist though it's more of a unrequited love in case of Babic's loyal assistant Lana (talented Natasa Janjic in a thankless role). Disgusting jokes and racial taunts seems to be the norm. The less said about the police the better.

It seems Branko Schmidt (writer/director) is using the character of Danko as some sort of a template…a mirror of Croatian crumbling moral values amid self-serving greed. The nobility of the titular profession is tainted by Danko's employing his abilities as a gynecologist for reprehensible purposes. Unique resolution will divide viewers.

The gory and surgical procedure segments are mostly implied. That actually makes it tougher to watch more so if you're pro-life.

Bad side of Croatian medicine

[imariczadar · 5 August 2014]

Cannibal Vegetarian is the second movie that was created based on the book of well-known Croatian writer Ivo Balenovic. The first movie, which was created based on the books Metastases earned the title of one of the best modern Croatian movies.

I expected this movie will repeat or at least closer to such a success, but I remained disappointed. The story is fragmented, with no real flow. The main actor Rene Bitorajac, does not look convincing in the role of problematic of real ending, a climax. The only positive surprise in the movie is soundtrack. All in all, watchable if you are interested in Croatian movies. The book is far better.

Incoherent and tiresome

[snusenx · 2/10 · 15 September 2012]

Thought I wold give this one a try. I wish I had not.

The pace of the movie is at fast forward through the whole thing, it snaps from scene to scene in incoherent leaps. The who's who and what's what takes you most of the first hour to get. The last 20 minutes is just a mess, and then its over. There seems to be no point or message, and when the movie ends it just ends, without any real ending. I'm miss context and substance, and I must say, the acting is mediocre at its best.

I could pick and poke at this flick for pages and pages on, but I'll leave it at that.

Unless you are especially interested in Croatian film; give this one a miss, it just ain't worth it!

from East

[Vincentiu · 27 January 2015]

cold picture about a kind of Julien Sorel. ambiguous end. interesting acting. result - a cold, gray image from East. it is a film about success. about appearances, ways to obtain it, about lost of conscience, more a parable than pure adaptation. Rene Bitorajac does a splendid job as the doctor of the present moment, materialistic, cynical, cruel in strange manner, selfish and victim of a circle who, at first sigh, protect him.but it is not a film about illusions. only about a form of survive who reminds others films from East - the Romanians are only an example - for present a too honest, direct picture of reality in a kind of naturalism as revenge against the Communist regime ideological pressure. a film from East. who reminds the presence of demons from many of its viewers.

Big disappointment

[the_teapot · 1/10 · 31 December 2012]

A while ago someone launched a rumour in here the Croatian press that this film was going to be nominated for an Oscar for the best foreign picture. HA HA HA HA HA. Good one! Marketing genius, whoever made that one up.

Well, not only is it not being considered for an Oscar or any kind of prestigious award like that, it should actually be given a Razzie for one of the worst films ever. Luckily for Branko Schmidt, the piece is too obscure to actually get a Razzie. So that's one upside of living in Croatia, eh?

That and maybe the fact that Croatian cinematography isn't renowned for spewing out masterpieces in general, so maybe within the scope of that environment this film even compares as "okay". On a more global scale I don't think it deserves any attention.

In short I would describe it as a very sketchy, shallow piece whose story line lacks development and is poorly narrated through sporadic and thin dialogue between superficial, grotesque characters whose motivation is at best - unclear.

Many mediocre films suffer from lack of idea how to end a story, even if their beginning was promising. Cannibal Vegetarian lands "in medias res" with a chaotic speed-sequence that is supposed to reflect the frantic personality of the main character. Perhaps this style may appeal to younger generations. This form of narration continues throughout the film. Unfortunately the director seemed to be so preoccupied with painting the pathology of the main character's psyche that he forgot to develop any other character, or even give a flow and some direction to the actual story being told. Just when you think the plot is about to culminate, it ends abruptly as if the writer had just given up. You get dragged through 85 minutes of painful, forced interactions between all-bad-guys characters to be given no resolution and no message?

What an unfortunate collision of bad writing and unimaginative directing.

from East

[Kirpianuscus · 26 January 2017]

at first sigh, it seems be not easy for a not East European to understand this provocative film. it could be define as thriller, as dark comedy, as satire or, so simple, as horror. but , basically, it is a fresco of a system work. corrupted, fake, egocentric, interested by appearances, brutal, hypocritical. and its virtue is to be the film of a real good director who reminds more than presents for a public familiar with the realities from health system.a Croatian movie who has the great virtue to be honest about everyday sins. because it is a film about the importance of appearances. about a not comfortable form of survive of mediocrity. and, sure, about the low price of the life of the other. a story from the East. nothing more.