AllMovie

The unique plight of teens caught between two cultures is highlighted in this second film by Yugoslavian director Zelimir Zilnik, back at the helm after a hiatus of more than a decade since his first, critically praised effort, Early Works. Although this second production may not meet the same high standards as the first, it is an intriguing story about Pavel, a 15-year-old who lived for 11 years with his parents while they worked in Stuttgart and is now back home in Yugoslavia with his grandmother, trying to finish his high school education. For himself and others, the separation from family, friends, and culture becomes too much to handle. Pavel runs away to Stuttgart, only to find out he can neither remain with his parents nor be readmitted into school. So it is back to Yugoslavia, and a stay in a boarding school where other multilingual and multicultural teens are living and studying -- and with a little patience, the sympathetic environment might be enough to make Pavel feel at home -- or almost.