Serbian star Mirjana Karanovic ( ) proves her impressive writing/directorial debut (2016) was no flash in the pan as she crafts another intriguing and complex role for herself. As Belgrade businesswoman Mara, who is struggling to find a way to grieve the death of her only child, 20-something Nemanja, she gets to shake up a bag of emotions and carefully pull each one out – if not necessarily one by one. A character study that explores the nature of defining yourself after loss, isn’t afraid to challenge societal cliches about middle-aged women along the way.
Based on elements of the two-hander play ’We Are The Ones Our Parents Warned Us About’ by Tanja Sljivar, it is opened out by Karanovic and her co-writers Maja Pelevic and Ognjen Svilicic beyond its theatrical origins. Premiering out of competition at Sarajevo Film Festival, this female-centric story should ensure travel well on the festival circuit, and Karanovic’s international profile and compelling performance could also help it catch the eye of other outlets. Mara has a smartness that seems bone deep.
Her wardrobe of wintry-toned clothing, bleached blonde curls and understated but effective make-up suggests a woman who means business, all of the time. Her luxurious home is also so cool and orderly it could have been clipped from a catalogue. Mara has gone to war on softness.
Her house is all geometric edges, dominated by white, with the rippling blue of her pool visible through the glass window that runs alon.