QUIT STARING AT MY PLATE/ NE GLEDAJ MI U PIJAT
Croatia/Denmark, 2016, 105 minutes, Colour.
Arijana Culina, Mia Petricevic, Niksa Butijer.
Directed by Hana Jusic.
Life in a Croatian town at the beginning of the 21st-century. And, in many ways, life is hard.
The film focuses on a family, the father something of the patriarch, highly critical, sometimes violent, eventually suffering a stroke and having to be cared for. His wife is rather long suffering, quiet in her resentment. The older son is mentally impaired, has no job, stays around the house. The daughter has life in her, is younger, has a job at the hospital, is sometimes friendly, sometimes abrasive, resenting her father.
After the stroke, the family are somewhat liberated, take some time off to enjoy themselves at the beach. The young woman, however, has sexual stirrings and goes out at night and has sexual experiences.
The film does not draw conclusions, but rather is observant about people in society and in their social context with the tensions of family living.
1. The title and the tone? Meals and food as a theme throughout the film? Who was “my�?
2. The Croatian setting, the town, the house, hospital, workplaces, bars? The coast and the beach? The musical score?
3. The slice of life, the family, their place in the town? At home, meals, the severity of the father, the put-upon mother get her wanting to buy good food, the mental limitations of the brother, Marijana and her place in the family, with her parents, with her work at the hospital?
4. Father, his severity, past tutoring, criticism of his daughter, slapping her, the criticism of the tough meat, his behaviour at the table? Going out with his son? Going out with his daughter and her following? His going out of the house, collapsing in the street, the stroke? Hospital, his returning home, in bed, the children poking him, the family looking after him, medically, physically, feeding?
5. The mother, her age, hard life, subject to her husband, cooking, shopping? The dealing with her son and concern? Her daughter? Her husband and his stroke, the hospital? Getting a neighbour to care for him when the family went to the beach? Her swimming, the exhilaration of the outing? The touch of self-indulgence in better food?
6. The brother, mental deficiencies, age, at home, eating, talk, not having a job? Around the town? The fight with the young men? His relationship with his father? The response to the stroke? The outing to the beach?
7. Marijana, her age, resentments of her father, his discipline, the standing up to him, his slapping her? Her work in the hospital, interaction with the other nurses, friends, sometimes surly? At home, the meals? Her father’s stroke, caring for him? The outing to the beach, her wanting some freedom?
8. Her going out at night, the friend from school days, the clubs, going to clean the houses, her mother’s refusal? The encounter with the men, flirting, the eager sexual experiences, her going home? Kissing the young man? Her wanting sexual experiences?
9. The inconclusive plot – but presenting characters and a slice of life?
