Slow Days (2006)

Genres - Drama  |   Run Time - 102 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

The lives of twenty people in a town in Croatia intertwine in various ways-- some closely, some barely at all -- in this experimental drama from filmmaker Matija Klukovic. Summer is coming to an end, and as school is about to go back into session, young people have to set aside their lazy bliss and resume their studies. Teenaged Martin (Filip Suster) suffers from insomnia and can't figure out how to work hard enough to "earn" his sleep and get through his classes. His mother Martina (Visnja Pesic) can't figure out what's wrong with him and wishes she could spend some time with her husband, who has taken a job in Switzerland. Martina has two sisters, twenty-something Ana (Jelena Hadzi-Manev), who has to listen to her big sister's complaints, and thirty-something Jadranka (Simona Dimitrov-Palatinus), who is dating a younger man named Alen (Leon Demsar), a part-time musician trying to earn his law degree. Sanja (Petra Tezak) is a classmate and neighbor of Martin who is back in town after a spell in Frankfurt now that her parents are out of work. Sanja is expecting to attend college in Zagreb soon, where she'll stay with her ailing grandmother and lazy but robust grandfather. Sanja attends school with her cousin Tamara (Nina Benovic), an self-centered amateur poet with a grudge against anyone who outranks her on the school's social hierarchy. One of Tamara's few friends is chronically depressed Marta (Petra Kurtela), while her greatest role models are her borderline-delinquent brother Matija (Stepan Matausic) and his bohemian pal Stjepan (Matija Klukovic), who have spent the last few years drifting from town to town. However, Matija and Stjepan are tired of life on the road, and are hoping locally famous actress Anita (Asja Potocnjak) can help them find work. Shot independently over the space of three years, Ajde, Dan . . . Prodji . . . (aka Slow Days) was screened in competition at the 2007 Rotterdam International Film Festival.