A Wonderful Night in Split (2004)

Croatia had been part of Yugoslavia before becoming its own country in 1991. Arsen Anton Ostojić's "Ta divna splitska noć" ("A Wonderful Night in Split" in English) looks at the result. The movie is set during a rock festival in the coastal city of Split. Amid the festivities, there are stories involving a widow, a drug addict, and a couple looking for a way to consummate their relationship. The black-and-white cinematography creates a surreal feeling throughout the entire movie.Watching the movie, I was reminded of Jim Jarmusch's "Mystery Train", which features overlapping vignettes centering on a main topic. Much like how Jarmusch's movie looks at the underbelly of Memphis, Ostojić's movie looks at the underbelly of this ancient city on the Adriatic Sea. Is there any city that doesn't have an underbelly? Anyway, I recommend the movie. I guess that they cast rap artist Coolio (of "Gangsta's Paradise" fame) to add some ethnic diversity. Worth seeing.

How many people die at the same time, each day, globally? Probably millions. But, how many die in the same town, in the same building and at almost the same time, each day? Probably very few. Which makes this story quite special, and not only for that coincidental aspect of coincidental deaths. But, not all of the deaths are altogether coincidental.Using that idea as its main premise, there are four main stories, all played out within the confines of a wonderfully, darkly photographed series of interconnected apartments, all self-contained within a larger all-encompassing structure that must be many hundreds of years old (a medieval ghetto, I understand) – and all on the Mediterranean coast.The camera work is gripping (no pun intended), innovative and spectacular; it sweeps across and above the narrow alleys, through corridors, up stairs, through windows, and upon roofs as we see the gathering crowd attending a New Year's eve bash in the large central courtyard.Intermingled with the crowd is Nike (Mladin Vulic), a tough, gruff womanizer always looking out for himself and on the hunt for drug money; and there is Maja (Marija Skaricic), a desperate loner and drug addict who's been cheated out of her next hit and is on the hunt for more – she needs a fix, like real bad; and then we come across Franky (Coolio), one of quartet of American sailors on the town, looking for action – specifically a prostitute for Franky who's been jilted by his fiancée back home; and finally, we see two teenage lovers who just want to get to a secluded spot for a bit of hanky-panky, and get more than they bargained for.Avoiding conventional linearity of narrative structure, director Ostojic cuts back and forth in time as he interleaves each story, so that the denouement for each is shown to occur at or very near the stroke of midnight while the crowd dances and prances to greet the New Year – along with the obligatory fireworks display. It's all done with great panache; obviously Ostojic has studied some of the great directors, like Stanley Kubrick, Carol Reed and perhaps a touch of Tarantino. The sound track is particularly effective – even the inane, jazzed-up quasi-rap from The Singer (Dino Dvornik), the leader of the rock group on stage.The acting is up to scratch for the most part; only the four American sailors come across as somewhat gauche (perhaps that was intentional) – although Coolio does a good job, overall. Of special mention are Vulic and Skaricic, the latter playing the frantically on-edge junkie perfectly, in my opinion. Not to be missed, also, is Dvornik as The Singer, playing a part that shows, once again, that all is never what it seems to be. Now throw in a mix of bit players to round off an exceptionally well produced, modern melodrama and one well worth your time to see.Avoiding color completely, the mise-en-scene at night in black and white is suitably foreboding, even with the entire town alight with New Year festivities – reminiscent of those dark Vienna streets and inky-black shadows in The Third Man (1949). Director Ostojic knows well his art and his craft.Recommended for all except kids.June 28, 2012

Well-photographed and well-acted movie with a good film score from a town I haven't yet been to. Not a good occasion to delve yourself into the beauty of the city - the dizzying atmosphere of Split on New Year's Eve it does make you feel, for as much as I can judge this, but given that it's nighttime, don't watch this movie just to make up for a missed chance to visit the town (visit the town instead, if possible). I wasn't disappointed at all by this lack of tourism promotion, though. The story really is the type that holds your interest very well, as pointed out before me, and it uses cleverly messed-up chronology to interweave lives in a city where foreigners might knock on your door with indecent requests and where drugs apparently are a problem - some minor or major side-branch of the big international drugs route to Western Europe leading through it, I suppose.As to my vote: 7 out of 10 - well, it could have been 10 but for the ending. (Skip the rest of my comment if you're not interested in my otherwise non-spoiling remarks on it.) To paraphrase Hamlet, "Though this be a spoiled ending, yet there is method in't" - I can see the point made by the authors, and I wouldn't even say the ending's not fitting. If you have only seen this one instance of such an ending, it will work very well, I suppose. I have had the experience of liking a movie with this sort of ending, only to then run into comments here on IMDb telling me it's been seen before. But do watch the movie even in case you have an idea of what I'm talking about, I do recommend it.

A beautiful movie!!!! Probably the only one made in Croatia that deserves to be called "a movie". Puzzling the peaces of three different stories in an intelligent and witty way, and at the end a bit surrealistic. It all happens in one day, the special day of awaiting the New years day in the city of Split (the title of the movie "Ta divna splitska noc" translates to "That beautiful night in Split" - a bit sarcastic!).Shortly described, first story is about the former Croatian soldier, and present drug dealer involved in a relationship with a widow of his former war-companion; the second about the nineteen year old girl, drug addict (heroin) in search for drugs and money, which takes her to famous Coolio (his role in the movie is proclaimed to be "an American element" by the Venetian Film Festival hahaha:)); the third about the couple walking around the city looking for a place to have sex and tripping at the end.But not to sound that serious, the movie has it's special humor (call it black), connecting everything and everybody in a cold/warm story about the city (Split) and people somehow all screwed up in a beautiful way! P.s. Black and white photography and music is nice (Dino Dvornik is the singer connecting the stories and those not introduced - a well known Croatian musician born in Split, making - i don't know, funky music..heh!)