The film ‘Requiem for Mrs J”, directed by Bojan Vuletic, is the Serbian candidate for an Oscar in the foreign film category. This was decided by the Serbian Academy of Film Arts and Science, says the Secretary General of the Academy. Mirko Beokovic.
Out of sixteen Academy members, eight voted in favour of ‘Requiem for Mrs. J”, seven for Goran Markovic’s film ‘A Blind Passenger on the Ship of Nutcases’, while the sequel to Jug Radivojevic’s film ‘Zona Zamfirova’ did not get any votes. One vote was invalid.
The Serbian candidate for this year’s Oscar depicts Mrs. J (played by the renowned Serbian actress, Mirjana Karanovic) who becomes depressed following the death of her husband, who passed away a year ago, and is planning to commit suicide as she can’t deal with the problems in her family.
Hollywood Reporter magazine says the following about the film: “Vuletic describes Requiem for Mrs. J as a state-of-the-nation fable about contemporary Serbia, a wounded land still wrestling with social and political transition following the bitter breakup of the former Yugoslavia. But while the story doubtless contains local resonances and references that only Balkan audiences will understand, the keynote themes of depression, grief, family friction and financial struggle will strike a universal chord in any language.
The film is a co-production between Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia, Macedonia and France.
(Vecernje Novosti, Hollywood Reporter, 05.09.2017)
http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/kultura.71.html:683862-Rekvijem-za-gospodju-J-srpski-kandidat-za-Oskara
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/requiem-mrs-j-review-974736
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