Slovenian Girl (2009)

Alexandra is a college student trying to make ends meet for her expensive apartment by becoming a call girl. She is attractive, but has a sullen personality that makes you wonder if she finds anything in her world interesting. And as the film progresses she manipulates others, including her father, through her constant scheming, and lying. Unfortunately she eventually turns a trick with the wrong guy and while she manages to slip away from him, his presence remains throughout the film. Despite not liking Alexandra, I found I wanted her to reform, love her father and escape all that set her on the wrong path. Better than I thought for a low budget eastern European movie.

Slovenian Girl (original title: Slovenka, alternate title: A Call Girl) will give you many chills, but it's not a suspense. It just presents the facts. It's not always pretty, it never gets dirty, it has its good sides, some bad too... neutral seems to be the theme.You'll see her origins, her work, her life, all in a quiet voice. Drama will not become action, pain will not be torment. However, being used to Hollywood, you can expect to be gripping your chair a bit, because all the trappings are there, just not that pre-chewed scenario that would lead you to jump out of your seat.I can only pull a few negative points: the colors are a bit off, the camera work very simple, and the story a bit sombre. My guess is it's low budget movie that was able to pull off a great performance.If you don't mind reading subtitles, go for it.

Obviously, SLOVENIAN GIRL director Damjan Kozole adheres closely to the Lars von Trier school of filmmaking: make the viewing experience as unpleasant at possible for the watcher. While a plot about an under-supported coed making her way through her higher learning by dabbling in the elder professions has been pulled off loads of times in an interesting fashion (CITY ISLAND comes first to mind among movies contemporary to SLOVENIAN GIRL), it usually requires an erotic element to nail such a story down. Unfortunately, Nina Ivanisin as the title character in Kozole's film does not strike one as a convincing 20-euro-a-crack call girl, let alone meriting the 200 euro specified in this story. Further, the actors playing her johns seem hard-pressed to avoid demanding their money back during the few parting scenes Kozole incorporates into SLOVENIAN GIRL. Last night I saw a similarly-themed film from Israel (THE ASSASSIN NEXT DOOR, written and directed by Danny Lerner). Though Olga Kurylenko as the latter title character has NO sex scenes in her guise as an erstwhile hooker, she exudes more erotic appeal than Ivanisin manages during the entire running time of SLOVENIAN GIRL.

I saw this last month at the 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival and writer/director Damjan Kozole was at my screening for an audience Q&A following the film. Aleksandra (Nina Ivanisin) who is called Sasha is a pretty 23 year old college student from the town of Krsko who is studying in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. To live in nice uptown apartment is above her economic means so to do so she becomes a call girl and advertises her services under the name 'Slovenian Girl'. It's Slovenia's turn to preside over the European Union so Sasha feels she could make a lot of money from European diplomats and businessmen who are in the capital during Slovenia's E.U. presidency. One of her clients is an overweight older German diplomat who dies from a heart attack while in her company. She calls the hotel's front desk to report it and splits before they arrive. She becomes a national tabloid sensation as television and newspapers try to find the mysterious 'Slovenian Girl.' Two sinister pimps, Mile (Dejan Spasic) and Peter (Aljoša Kovacic) have their own plans for her. Her old boyfriend Grega (Uroš Fürst) wants to renew their romance. Her father Edo (Peter Museuski) is getting his old band back together with his best pal Zoravko (Primoz Pirnat) back home in Krsko. This is a moody and dark film with a great cast and story and a remarkable performance by Ivanisin who is in virtually every scene considering it's her first film role. great production design by Maja Moravec, cinematography by Ales Belak and editing by film vets Jurij Moskon and Adrija Zafranovic. nice soundtrack from the electronic music group silence. I would expect this to get distribution in American art house theaters. I would recommend it and give it an 8.0 out of 10.