Autumn review - VIS-A-VIS by Nevio Marasovic

Cinema as a work of art, cinema as an expression of humanity. Filmmaker Nevio Marasovic tells a story set in an emotionally dense pre-production in his film Vis-à-Vis, presented in the Autumn section of the 22nd Raindance Film Festival.
 
Over the years, in fact, right from the beginnings, the have been films made about films, filmmaking, cinema and so on. However, it is plain to see and fair to say, that the vast majority of them have always been much more concerned with its glamorous and glitzy side, whether on a comedic standpoint or a dramatic one. Thinking that Vis-à-Vis will be just that is totally wrong. This is the story of a filmmaker who, in order of getting his project kickstarted, please the producers and cast a specific actor in one of the leading roles, decides to shoot off to the Croatian island of Vis where the film is set, to doctor his screenplay. The aim is to make the relationships seem more real and shorten its length. However, in order to work on it properly, he decides to invite the other leading actor to spend three days on the island so they can work on it together.
It doesn't take long to understand that the two men are plagued by personal problems. The filmmaker is expressing in and in a way excorcising his regrets and his frustrations about the relationship he had with his father through the film. The actor, on the other hand, is undergoing unbearable domestic stress as he is coping with a fresh divorce and his phone ringing every minute. These problems cause tensions, reveal important vulnerabilities and inevitably brings the two men closer. Another important factor is the greying dull island on which the film is set, and the isolation becomes a contributing factor in the developing closeness between the two characters.
 
Because the film is centred around two characters, it required two well balanced and yet powerhouse performances by the leads. Janko Popovis and Rakan Rushidat certainly deliver them, and make the characters seem likeable as well as very relatable. Nevertheless, the whole film is interesting because of its perfect timing and its intelligence. Apart from its success in making the dramatic tones tragically compelling, it also retains a soft spoken sense of humour that occasionally warms the heart and puts a smile on your face.
 
All the while, as we watch the bond strengthen between filmmaker and actor, the cinematic theme remains incredibly important and indeed some of the comments are very deep. Vis-à-Vis is not only a different and in many extents realistic insight on the filmmaking process. It is also a comment on its future and the delicate situation in which the film industry finds itself. As well as personal problems, the two characters - and even the third supporting character, the second actor that in the film is meant to play the father figure - are conflicted by professional issues and frustrations. The filmmaker is unable to realise his own visions because of industrial cinema's restrains. One of the actor feels choked down by his association with soap operas. The other actor seems, on the other hand, altogether disenchanted and lacking stimuli. In many ways, the best feel good factor of the film is not only its refreshing reveal and exposure of the cinematic process, but its suggestion of a shining resnaissance of filmmaking as we know it.