Slovenka/Slovenian Girl (Damjan Kozole, 2009): Slovenia/Germany/Serbia/Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina

Reviewed by Lava Farmer.  Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

The twisted tale of a young woman going to college in Ljubljana with a dark secret makes Slovenka(Slovenian Girl) a disturbing thriller.  Alexandra(Nina Ivanisin), a thoughtful and quiet girl, struggles to pay for school and bills so she resorts to prostitution in hopes that she’ll be able to hang on to her fancy apartment.  Going by the name Slovenka, she quickly becomes notorious when one of a her clients, who turns out to be a senator, suffers from a heart attack and dies.  Her call name is splashed all over the news, but she is still forced to continue her dirty work if she is to make her mortgage and stay afloat.

Director and co-screenwriter Damjan Kozole uses bland shots and very little creativity with the filmmaking.  Instead the focus is on the story, which was written by Kozole and Matevz Luzar.  In contrast to the weak shots, Nina Ivanisin’s strong and chilling performance gives the film presence.  At first she seems quiet and emotionless, but we quickly find out how truly disturbed her actions have made her.  Her ritual of licking her cigarette before she lights it reveals her nerves and tight close-ups make us get up close with her emotions.

When she hits the streets they always seem damp and glittering with neon light and street lamps giving a neo-noir essence.  A stark contrast to the city streets is the stark white apartment where Alexandra dwells.  The spacious apartment is quite empty and minimally decorated making it seem dry and sterile.  Likewise, the big open windows overlooking the city streets make her look like something on display, since technically she is selling herself.

As she struggles for money she manipulates those who are trying to help her.  Her father loves her more than life and gives her money, but it is never enough to keep her from disappointing him.  When she falls behind in school she even exploits her professor who tries to give her a break.  Then while working two pimps overtake her and teach her that she could be the victim of manipulation too.

Rather than get closure we end with a lot of loose ends to tie up. However, I felt that the final scene with Alexandra singing, “I’m going down…” gives a subtle and somber finale. It seems that an overlying theme throughout the festival was dark and sadistic Eastern European films.  Definitely in step with this theme, Slovenka, is look at the utter worst of humanity.