by Jared Feldschreiber

A Serbian “documentary-satire” that doesn’t really have a genre other than the fact, “thank goodness you don’t live in Serbia.”

Broken up in 24 vignettes in a mere one hour, this deadpan and morbidly hilarious take on “modern” Serbia looks like a society so backward even Sasha Baron Cohen’s Borat would complain about its primitiveness.

It’s a sad tale, to be sure, but an important one that gives strange insight to a society ravaged by war, sex, poverty and an overall emphasis on a helpless society. It is sad because many have commented that Serbia is making great strides to be younger and more vibrant.

The quality of the film’s stock is primitive to coalesce with the bleakness of Boris Mitic’s narration, which often includes subtle jokes to belie the tragedy he shows. One joke stands apart: “I feel horrible; my wife is cheating on me with my best friend,“ he laments. The response: “Don’t worry, he’s not your best friend.”