Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Warm Film (Topli Film) takes its title from an old-fashioned phrase ‘warm brother’ that used to be used widely to signify a gay man. It brings a selection of scenes and storylines in Serbian cinema that either have homosexual overtones or deal with queer stories. The idea behind this retrospective is to show that queerness always existed in Serbian cinema and therefore in society. The film goes on to question why reactions to queer stories are more extreme today than they were in the past. (Don't be fooled by the suggestive poster) You’d be surprised to learn that the first same-sex kiss in cinema history took place in 1911, in a Serbian film'The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Leader Karađorđe', where two soldiers kiss twice on the mouth. This was a traditional greeting at the time. The director of this documentary launches a casting for a “fake film” – one he’s never going to make. Instead, he will include scenes with actors in his documentary on queer elements in Yugoslav...

The director of this film is known for his socially engaged films and documentaries in former Yugoslavia, which earned him critical accolades but also censorship in the 70s for his unflinching criticism of the government apparatus. Low budget filmmaking and challenging political themes mark Zilnik’s prolific career that includes over 50 feature and documentary films and shorts. This Serbian film has dialogues in a few languages trying to keep the spirit of the region in tact. Although I am not sure what the purpose of the film is, because it just feels slice of life and maybe its trying to make a point against poverty, immigration, gay rights but none of them actually ever gets the focus. Kenedi is a 30 year old man, who is now in a huge dent after building house for his family and is now being hounded by loan sharks to collect the money back. He tried to do odd jobsharer and there but with the daily wages he earns, it will take him forever to make money. When one of the old ladies off...

I can’t believe that I had not heard of this film before. Even more surprising is the fact that why is this film not popular among international circuits! It’s a shame. This film deserves to be seen for many reasons. A film that deals with very important subject of Balkan homophobia, but thankfully not in a dramatic. sad or depressing way. This film is perfect combination of cheekiness, humour, entertainment yet making a very strong point across. Gangster Lemon meets veterinarian Radmilo when his dog gets shot. They part but are destined to meet again. Radmilo’s boyfriend Mirko is an artist who also helps planning weddings. Mirko is also part of the LGBT activist group trying to organise pride parade in Belgrade. Doing that is no easy task because they get harassed and beaten up all the time. Lemon is now ‘reformed’ and runs  judo clubbing his finance Pearl is working with Mirko planning her wedding. The eventual meeting of the two couples goes horribly wrong with Lemon’s viol...

Watching this film was pain, almost like torture. Made in a documentary style, the acting was bad, story-line poor and direction was bad (of course all this is my personal opinion). My precious hour and a half completely wasted which will never come back. Kenedi is in a huge debt after building a house for his family. He finds himself searching for any kind of work to support himself, for as little as 10 EUR per day, a scarce amount to help him relief his debt. Ultimately, Kenedi decides to look for money in sex business. Initially offering his services to older ladies and widows, he expands his 'business' to offer sex to wealthy men. When he finds out about new liberal European laws on gay marriages, Kenedi sees prospects in looking for a "marriage material", to renew his search for a legal status in EU. The opportunity arises during EXIT Music Festival, when he meets Max, a guy from Munich. But Kenedi cannot change his flirtatious behaviour and still has sex with wo...