Gravehopping

Gravehopping is the second feature film by Slovenian actor, screenwriter and director Jan Cvitkovic. His impressive black & white feature début Bread and Milk surprisingly didn’t win any prizes at the Slovenian National Film Festival in PortoroP, but received a lot of acclaim abroad. Like his first film, Gravehopping is truly an ‘auteur’ film, although for those who saw Bread and Milk, Gravehopping might come as a bit of surprise in terms of style and genre. Cvitkovic turns in this film to a familiar tragicomedy in a typically Balkan spirit, concentrating on ordinary characters in a small Slovenian town. The tragicomic element is strengthened by the choice of profession of the main character Pero, who is a paid speaker at funerals, and a good one at that, hopping from grave to grave and enjoying his work. His professional life may sound pretty unpleasant, but his private life is even more strange, with a suicidal father, his love for the mysterious Renata and his friendship with Shooki, whose main hobby seems to be the preparation of his own funeral. Quite peculiar company, you could say. The director plays with themes such as happiness and unhappiness, heaven and hell, life and death; in short, the ups and downs of ordinary people’s lives, and observes his characters with a human touch and a delicate sense of humour. (LC)