Set in a little town in Slovenia, the film starts with a quote from J.D. Salinger's Nine Stories: "I was six when I saw that everything was God and my hair stood up." If one wanted to sum up the film in only a couple of words, one could say it is about life and death in the most literal and metaphorical, the most concrete and abstract, the most comical and serious sense. Pero, the hero of the story magnificently played by Gregor Bakovic;, works as a professional funeral speech writer. His voice-over philosophizes at the beginning, while we are watching a cross-section of a cemetery, the camera tilting up until we see the actual funeral and Pero holding one of his speeches, that "everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die first." This, already, sets the tone for the entire film. Ironic, sarcastic, cynical. Morbid, macabre. It is hilariously funny even though the humor is borderline, the film as a whole not made for the sensitive. Pero's father, still grieving for his wife who passed six years ago, repeatedly tries to commit suicide in vain. Either a forgotten stool stops the heavy wardrobe from falling right onto and squashing his face, or the knot of the rope tied around his neck and a tree branch was not done properly and gets loose. You laugh at attempted suicide, especially when Pero in complete frustration screams: "If you do this one more time, I'm gonna kill you!", and feel ashamed for doing so at the same time. Never before was watching somebody (in this case Pero) listening to language study tapes and repeating phrases in British English so amusing, or, for that matter, never has one giggled about funeral speeches before. These elaborate and witty talks are rather personal, reflect Pero's state of mind and, thus, become increasingly sarcastic. Eventually he 'denounces' death saying it is even more unavoidable than life: "Not everyone is born, but everybody dies." Gravehopping is a pitch-black comedy that leaves the audience utterly unprepared for the sudden eruptions of violence scattered over the film. Pero's sweet friend, and potential girlfriend, turns out to have a liking in sadomasochism and, out of frustration, spontaneously decides to smash her face full front onto a big innocent stone ashtray, so hard that you inarbitrarily reach to your own face to ease the phantom pain you experience. His dumb and most likely mentally handicapped sister is brutally raped, tortured, and mutilated by three men and promptly revenged by uki, Pero's friend and neighbor. The film turns from tragic to catastrophic, often on the verge of being unbearable. Emotionally. Jan Cvitkovic; is a master in triggering off any kind of feelings that are humanly possible to experience and Simon Tansek's cinematography is outstanding. Deeply upsetting scenes are frequently followed by long, slow, and quiet shots from unusual angles. However, this sudden slow-pacing of the film does not at all create slow moments in the film but give the audience time to breathe, time to deal with and sort out what they have just seen. In this world of existentialist adults, the only child is left confused, as well. Pero's nephew insists on not being buried, once he will be dead, because "Hell is down and Heaven is up." And human life is something in between, in between Heaven and Hell, life and death as the shot of the moths struggling in the water beautifully symbolizes. The film ends, as it should, with a funeral Cvitkovic; style and as the end credits roll the emotionally utterly exhausted audience hears the popular song "I will survive" - Slovenian folk style. So, what is the message of the film? That life is a 'bitch' and we're all doomed to die? That black humor and cynicism are the only way to survive? Or that love is ultimately all that really counts? Maybe none of them, or all at once. Jan told me anyway that, "I just like to throw that stuff, those pictures and words at the audience and not comment on it at all. You know, I want them to think about what it means, to decide for themselves." Gravehopping is one of the most remarkable film productions I have seen in my life a successful combination of smart writing and esthetic and artistic cinematography. And even though the subtitles seem to work almost surprisingly well, I hardly dare to imagine how even more brilliant the movie must be if you actually understand the Slovenian language.
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