The Constitution (Rajko Grlić, 2016) |Croatia

by Finso Gyaltsen, viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Feb. 2017).

The Constitution is a Croatian feature film set in the capital city of Zagreb, and is directed by Rajko Grlić who co-wrote it with longtime collaborator Ante Tomić. The film won “Best International Feature Film” at the 32’nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The Constitution or “Ustav Republike Hrvatske” is an interesting film that revolves around the lives of 4 different people who happen to live in the same apartment complex in downtown Zagreb.

Over the course of the film we come to know these four characters on a deep level as their lives intertwine, on the surface we are introduced to – a cross-dressing school teacher, his old bedridden father, a nurse and her police officer husband. Different things happen in the film bringing these neighbors together in unusual circumstances, forcing them to help and rely on one another despite what prejudices may lie within them. The Constitution at its core is a playful drama with hints of subtly placed humor, touching on a series of serious social, political and ethnic issues local to Croatia.

One of the minor stories that plays out in the background through the course of this film is that of a creative criminal feeding unsuspecting dogs with sausages laced with shards of glass, this sausage dropping mastermind is never caught, even as the credits roll, a dog is seen eating one of these shard laced sausages. My take on this side story was basically the directors commentary on life, saying not everything ends happily ever after in the real world. After the movie was over, we had the director appear for a Q&A where he was asked about the last scene and he replied that it there needed to be a balance between good and evil (the movie’s main storyline ends on a positive note). The Constitution portrays a coming together of different people and personalities in a powerfully entertaining and poignant way. It makes for an entertaining film that doesn’t try to push a message down your throat, while portraying a slice of life in modern day Croatia where different people exist. I give The Constitution a 4/5 on my much acclaimed movie rating system.