Siffblog: And Voila! Back from the brink ...

June 2, 2006

And Voila! Back from the brink ...

David Jeffers

Gravehopping (Odgrobadogroba)

Slovenia, 2005 (103 minutes)

Wednesday June 14, 4:15pm Pacific Place Cinemas
Friday June 16, 9:45pm Pacific Place Cinemas

"I’ll bet there are lots of guys in London who can talk with a London accent, and it’s no particular turn on to anybody."

Pero (Gregor Bakovic) spends his time in the cemetery. He performs funeral eulogies for a living in his little Slovenian town. His best friend Suki (Drago Milinovic) lives in a garage, " I want to be buried with my car." A catatonic father bent on suicide, a mute sister who slinks around like a cat in Suki’s garage and a beautiful but secretive girlfriend Renata (Mojca Fatur) are among the eccentric graveside characters in Gravehopping. Jan Cvitkovic’s second feature is a funny and energetic look at an almost Felliniesque group of people, obsessed with death in their quirky lives, set to the disco hit I Will Survive played by a volunteer brass band. The humor is fresh yet sentimental, and the tragedy genuine with a final, heart-searing surprise, as Pero moves from one death to the next. "Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die first."

Posted by David Jeffers at June 2, 2006 6:19 PM

Comments

The thing I found most remarkable about this film was that it started off as a quirky comedy and then got darker and more serious and then, at the end, kinda creepy. I wouldn't say it was a great film, but the shift in mood made it pretty interesting for me. ›

Posted by: E. Steven at June 5, 2006 11:12 AM

I'm a sucker for disco hits played on the tuba. I think you are noticing the same thing I did. The story is decidedly unconventional and takes you somewhere you didn't expect to go. The whole tied to the chair spanking thing was pretty hot too.

Posted by: David Jeffers at June 5, 2006 11:47 PM