Cowboys (2013) User Reviews

John Wayne is turning in his grave with laughter!

[info-480-509704 · 10/10 · 13 December 2013]

Rating: 8,5/10 review by Vanja Runjic

The story of the movie Cowboys is not just a story of good and evil, as the movie heroes identify the main dramatic axis of the western as a genre, but also a story of high art and low populism - although some high-brow film critics would say that is basically the same thing. Cowboys are based on a hit theater show that was seen by well over 100.000 viewers (some say even 150.000), proving that an art experiment need not necessarily be abstract, hermetic and addressed to narrow elitist circles. However, one need not see the theater show to enjoy the movie. In fact, it might be quite refreshing to see it without preconceptions. A gloomy middle-aged theater director Sasha (Sasa Anocic) returns to his home town, even gloomier industrial province, where an old friend, the local mayor (Niksa Butijer) convinces him to put on a theater show with a group of amateurs. A group of weirdoes and bizarre looking types arrives for the audition, none of them having any acting or theater experience whatsoever, and the disillusioned director ends up taking them all. From the first shots we are aware of all the fullmonthy and other underdog clichés, but instead of seeing them as a potential flaw, surprisingly they turn out to be one of the best qualities of this movie. Considering that everything has already been said in film (and music) and it is not easy to be original, especially on such slippery ground as with popular comedy, I have to point out the work of the director and scriptwriter Tomislav Mrsic, acclaimed documentarist, who has managed to use all the character, situational and dramatic clichés in such a way that the viewer doesn't feel annoyed by the fact that they have all been seen. Which is a good feeling! The movie Cowboys is an ensemble comedy, and it's all about the roles they play – even if there were only two or three great actors, it would be a success. Mrsic was lucky in that regard, mostly thanks to the fact that he used the same cast as in the theater show. There is the dumb Domagoj (the incredible Zivko Anocic), who remains a mystery until the end: is he a complete idiot, mentally challenged, or both, or is he just pretending? Then, the friendly gypsy Miodrag (played by the equally great Rakan Rushaidat); the postman Javor, an annoying wannabe actor, busy bee and mama's boy played by Hrvoje Barisic, a pleasant surprise. I can only imagine how irritable he could get if directed by such masters of annoyance like Gervais, Merchant or Larry David, but Mrsic manages to keep him likable. That is the main forte and the charm of this movie – a feel good atmosphere, light humor, discreet pathos, free of any presumptuousness. Not to mention the grand finale. Comedy is a tricky business, especially when it aims to appeal to the masses. Anybody can make some drunken friends laugh, but big audiences are tough, and critics even tougher. Mrsic and Cowboys did it, and the fact that they reached their goal without over psychologizing the characters or overdramatizing and by using a bunch of commonplace devices, makes their triumph even greater

Croatian amateurs stage Western musical

[maurice_yacowar · 9/10 · 3 January 2015]

The Croatian film Cowboys is the latest expression of Europe's fascination with the American Western mythology. Even the countries that hate America remain addicted to American pop culture, especially the Western. As the imported stage director Sasha explains here, the Western is never boring like life is, especially in this "frontier" bleak industrial town, and it celebrates the coming of civilization to the wilderness. The Western marks the turning of the desert into a garden.

The grotesque mounted fish heads in the rec centre director's office are an emblem of his unrealized ambitions. A fish head isn't an elk. He hires an outsider to direct a play because he knows his town needs culture. Though he loses faith in the production the appreciative full house restores it.

The film's theme is the twofold value of art and community. Even this silly little drama brings the townsfolk together for a shared experience, shared emotions. The eight local losers who perform the thing find different forms of fulfilment. The mama's boy finally manages to impress her — and to live up to his pretensions, aided perhaps by his introduction to weed. The ex-con Ivan flubs his first attempt at re-entering society but returns for the production to resume his responsibility in a reduced role. The incomprehensible woman proves an excellent singer and her idiot brother a good accompanist.

As it's a Croatian film there's the obligatory Serb joke. But in this celebration of community — the cast as well as the audience — the Serb is fully supported in his problem with the local sharks. Director Sasha pays his debt and the gay cast member beats up the creditors so he doesn't have to pay them. Even Ivan repays his loan.

The more serious problem is director Sasha's cancer, which removes him from the last rehearsals and the production. But his cast carries on without him and succeeds. This coheres with the US Western's association with new democracy. Sasha doesn't impose a script on his cast but develops one out of their answers and suggestions. As a result that democratic unit can manage without their governor.

The Western song framework confirms the film's operation in the global context of American culture. The imported director Sasha seems a stand-in for contemporary America. With his powers diminished and his own family relationship (his sister) in ruins, he doesn't always perform at his best. He loses patience with his performers, pushes the woman to tears and expels a cast member unfairly. But he can make up for his mistakes, and advances the production to the point that they don't need him. His death coincides with their curtain call. In the end credits each character is shown with his name — except Sasha, who's named against a black screen. He's the once powerful force, now darkened.