Holidays in the Sun (2014) User Reviews

Big disappointment

[drfire29 · 5/10 · 22 April 2014]

Dragojeivć is using the Yugoslavian war jokes and stories as a stand where he can distract you form realizing how movie is bad.

Story is shallow, too many characters, which are not proving as stereotype different nationalities of ex-Yugoslavia countries.. Too many aggressive scenes, form milking into the glass, to showing penis or junkie vomiting, which are all to exaggerating and absolutely unnecessary.

Humor is old and I've heard it many times in his movies before. Not that I don't like it, it isn't funny anymore when is so many times repeated.

In my opinion movie is done too fast and too shallow for director as Dragojević, I've seen much much better things than this one.

Don't waste your time

[Bored_Dragon · 4/10 · 12 February 2018]

I'm watching and crying. Not because the film is moving, but because Yugoslav cinema is dying in pain. I will not waste my words on this movie, I really have no nerves. It's not a drama nor a comedy, lousy story, lousy acting, lousy directing... Watchable, but total waste of time.

4/10

Disliked it big time

[nadrndana · 1/10 · 11 April 2014]

This time Dragojevic is trying to think of himself as Almodovar.

You may see young mother milking herself, her husband drinking that milk, junkies, Srdjan Todorovic's penis, blood... all in one. and not in a good way.

Couple from Nis is cute. Both of them. Natasa did it great as Bosnian female. Srdjan Todorovic is good as he always is. But these few characters are simply not enough. Not! Film is stupid, annoying and pretty predictive.

Little boy's death is the only part of the movie that can touch normal person. The rest is simply stupid, overacted and waste of your time.

Don't bother!

Artificiality across the board representing boredom and uninterestedness of the director

[sampeckinpah-19251984 · 1/10 · 19 May 2015]

This is a soulless film where its soullessness comes both from author's intentions and from the poor script we are subjected to.

His intention is to point out to the local Balkan ex Yugoslavia mentality in modern neoliberal ruthless capitalist reality and at the same time to partly and superficially give assessment of the 1990's wars where in a dirty messy conflict laden with deep historical background director decided to take side and to use this failed comedy as a cynical dethatched political exploitation piece, exploiting the divide and heightened emotions of the people representing ex YU republics and in the end proving that ruthless capitalists are not his bland merchant protagonists but himself.

Do not expect character development or any deepness from this film, it stays on the surface level of caricature, of undeveloped unsympathetic and forced characters. Expect no great revelations, no deep point, just banality and a sense of hollowness if you endure long enough to the end credits.

The visual aspect is so-so, a conventional uninspired run of the mill close and medium shots film without any deep building of space, without visual virtuosity or excitement. Bland as its scenario, bland as actors willing to participate and take cash for this. When it comes to the color texture of the film they look like they were deliberately processed to look bleak but the added visual sterility makes the whole experience even more artificial representing total boredom and uninterestedness of the director in this project.

Don't waste your time on this because it can be better spent on nose picking or sheep counting.

Loved it!

[petarmatic · 8/10 · 26 April 2014]

For all of us who lived in the former Yugoslavia, this films brings back memories. Good ones! I loved humanity of this film. I am so glad that finally some human beings are portrayed as such.

First of all to our English speaking friends I have to explain what it means Atomski Zdesna. It basically means Duck and Cover! While serving in the Yugoslav Army we were drilled if there is a nuclear attack from the right that means attack is coming from the right and the attacker is the good old US of A. If they yelled Atomski Slijeva that meant that attack is coming from the left and the attacker is the Soviet Union. Like Yugoslavia is supposed to be in the center. Hm.

Plot is cute and humane. Bosnian Muslims suffered most during the wars of the Yugoslav disintegration and I am so glad that they were portrayed well in this film.

Acting is a little bit overacting. That is a little pain in the former Yugoslav movies. Actors do not have an opportunity to act too much any more and when an opportunity comes along the do a little bit too much of acting, if you get my drift.

Notable exception is Branko Djuric. Our mothers were friends in Sarajevo, although I did not meet him personally, everything points out that he is a great human being. A lot of people told me so.

All in all if you are into former Yugoslav thematics this is a film for you. I liked it and I strongly recommend it.

A response

[discopolis · 10/10 · 15 June 2015]

I would like to give a quick response to other user's reviews. Maybe you didn't like the movie and that is OK, but most of you just didn't understand it. First, the movie is very serious, it's not a comedy and I didn't see any humor. You are all so used to Srdjan always trying to make his movies funny. This time I don't think he wanted to do that. Moreover, this movie is very deep and symbolic, you cannot just expect typical character development of individual characters. And also the actors were so good that I couldn't tell which one was better, because they all worked as a whole to portray the reality which we have constantly been trying to avoid facing, and this time Srdjan didn't want to help us covering it with humor like before. The only miss for me are the characters from Nis, because people from Nis don't speak like that. It seemed that actors were using Zona Zamfirova movie to prepare to speak like people from Nis :)

Great movie

[bobaorolicki-31844 · 10/10 · 7 February 2019]

I am deeply sorry that you could not see and feel the depth of criticism of the entire modern society, on all possible levels, presented to us in this movie by many short and deeply connected stories. This was not supposed to be a comedy or shallow Hollywood-production film, but profound analysis of society we live in. Just one small illustration: while modern man are selling imaginary luxurious "future" in attempt to ripoff the poor miserable slaves, young generations (little boy) are unsuccessfully trying to attract attention by drawings, and at the end they get lost/injured/killed... Lost for life that we are creating by participation in this type of world and human relations... Great movie!