Internal barrel without catharsis

The story of a successful business woman, a single mother, who faces the loss of her son, but in a way that is anything but conventional and usual, is brought to you by the film "Mother Mara" by the director and co-writer Mirjana Karanović, which also plays the main role.

After the world premiere at the Sarajevo Film Festival, the film was shown to the audience of the Herceg Novi Film Festival (FFHN) on Monday evening, at the Kanli Tower.

From the first shot of the black procession and silent sobs and comments of different colored voices, Mara stands out with its cold and almost impenetrable facade. Her face remains motionless, stony, with a couple of twitches hinting at an inner storm, all while others face their grief expressively. Mara refuses or is not able to get involved in that process, which is effectively transmitted to the audience, which seems to remain on the sidelines, just a mute observer...

A small number of characters, a minimum of verbal, scenography in the Scandinavian style, sterility of the space, reflect the complete inner world of the protagonist, which creates a visual framework that supports the atmosphere of alienation and emotional distance that dominates the film. The costumes are carefully chosen, perfectly polished, as if they reflect the life that Mara perfectly arranged and in which everything was in its place until a tragedy came and displaced the woman from her own life.

Karanović in the role of Mara gives a performance that is calm, tense, and somewhat disturbing at the same time. Her character does not give the impression of a person who is aware of the loss, she acts as if she does not understand it and does not accept it in the way that she (as a mother) is expected to do. No tears, no dramatic outbursts, no loud screams, but instead swallowing the pain.

That everyone deals with grief in a different way, as they are capable of at some point, or that they don't deal with it, is shown by this film, which also has a strong reference to exactly that - dealing with loss, which at some point becomes an object of observation and analysis. and evaluations. Mara ignores it, and says the sentence "I'm fine" nonchalantly, as she visibly wanders through the sudden pain and emptiness, searching for answers to questions she may never get. The emotional blockage and introversion are also transmitted to the audience, who watched the film calmly on the Kanli tower, fearing what kind of storm the wind and thick gray clouds were announcing.

However, it is Mara who is forced to deal with the tragedy, and she does so, but in her own way.

One of the key elements of the film is the relationship she develops with an acquaintance of her late son. Suspicious, mystical and unclear from the beginning, this relationship acts as Mara's attempt to reconnect with what was lost, it is also an opportunity to get to know her son better, but also a consolation, although she is certainly the one who dictates the development. She, on the other hand, remains isolated from that, frivolous, but also aware of her actions and, ultimately, consistent.

Mladić Milan, portrayed by a Montenegrin actor Vucic Perovic, also carries its burden, personal tragedy, trauma, loneliness, so it seems that they met silently because of that. His character builds and portrays character with convincing facial expressions and body language, and in a strange relationship with Mara, he is the one who will free her from herself. As the two get closer, they discover more and more facts about Nemanja's life and death, which gives Mari the opportunity to face her own life and emotions.

The film explores and questions the position of women in society from different aspects: a woman who faces internal struggles, but also the expectations of the environment, be it close people or a primitive group, a woman who is criticized for her success and determination, a woman whose life and dedication are questioned.

It seems as if Mara is on the threshold of some kind of revelation or emotional release, but not so openly and convincingly that the viewer feels it and exhales. Karanović confronts the audience with the situation and with what it has shown, looking into the eyes of each individual, but also leaves a feeling of uncertainty, which makes "Majka Mara" a work about which you will discuss and share opinions, and argue different interpretations.

Certainly, "Mother Mara" is not a film that will be easily accepted by every viewer... Its distance, coldness and restraint may leave many without the feeling of catharsis, those explosions of emotions that are often expected from films dealing with the themes of loss and sadness. However, strength, as well as courage, lies precisely in this refusal to provide simple answers and to counter established patterns of behavior for the sake of the natural. Instead, the film challenges the viewers to reconsider and accept different reactions to grief, as well as the social norms that define the "correct" way of living and even grieving, and in all of this it points to the stigmas that place women at the center of all events.

The desert island of modern Robinson

The second film that was screened as part of the competitive selection of feature films on Monday evening at Kanli Kula is "Supermarket" by the Montenegrin author Nemanja Bečanović, who brought the story of a modern-day Robinson Crusoe whose deserted island is a supermarket that at a certain moment becomes a space for the analysis of the absurd. but also of interpersonal relations in our capitalist society.

"No matter how claustrophobic that film seems, every time I entered a supermarket after the film, I realized that it was much colder, scarier, that our film seemed realistic and warm. When you see these people and their expressions, we see that the film is actually an embellished reality of all real relationships in society," said director Bečanović at yesterday's media conference.

The modern Robinson Crusoe is played by the Serbian actor Bojan Žirović.

"My character forms a world with that supermarket, with which he has a relationship. That this relationship is not the right one, that the goal has been missed is another question, but there is the fulfillment of his wishes," he said.

A story about women who find strength and ways to move on

The film was made for five years with the help of numerous European funds, and was realized in the co-production of Switzerland, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He becomes emotionally alienated and refuses to communicate with family and friends.

"This is a story about a woman who was building her life in one way and the moment she experienced a tragedy, she became aware of its emptiness. She has no support, and what is happening is her inner cry for life, for an incentive to awaken that life in her. This vital energy exists in young people, which drives you, which takes you to unknown places, which causes life. But, over the years, people silence that voice in themselves, because you want to have a stable life, in which things will be predictable", said Karanović at yesterday's press conference.

As the co-writer of the film, she explained that Mara becomes aware that the decisions she made, and the pursuit of economic security and position, which should "guarantee a certain and stable future" actually become insignificant with the loss of her son.

"I also wanted to tell such a story. And then when she meets that young man, she sees that something, the way he looks at her, and that's the reason why she kisses him. This is the moment in which she initiates the revival process", says Karanović.

Reviving and continuing life is exactly what the actress herself wants to achieve.

"I am not a pessimist in any segment of my life, although I have some difficult moments, although I am shaken and disappointed by everything that is happening in the world, and what are the trends in human behavior, but I have a deep faith in man and humanity, and that is why I make films like this about women in mature years to whom things happen, which should destroy and cancel them, but who find strength and ways to move on. In what way, that remains up to the viewers, but I always believe in the continuation of life," she said.