Implausible Script Causes Na Putu To Veer Off The Path: Film Review
Some films stick with you. They can affect your viewpoint, encourage discussion, or excite you so much that you want to share that with anyone who will listen. Other films simply wash over you, leaving you a bit underwhelmed by the whole experience. For me, Bosnian drama Na Putu (On the Path) falls into the later category.
Don’t get me wrong: I really wanted to like this film. After the stomach-punch impact of her 2006 film Esma’s Secret (Grbavica), my hopes were high for this latest from writer/director Jasmila Žbanić. But as much as I tried, I just couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
In Na Putu, Luna (Zrinka Cvitesic) and her boyfriend Amar (Leon Lucev) are a couple on the brink of collapse, anxious about their inability to conceive and about to face the greatest challenge to their relationship.
An opening scene sees air traffic controller Amar suspended for being drunk on the job, which seems especially irresponsible as his girlfriend Luna is an air stewardess. Amar seeks refuge in the bottle, much to the disapproval of his re-discovered army buddy Bahrija (Ermin Bravo).
Bearded and wearing a taqiyah, Bahrija is clearly identifiable as Muslim. Their conversation leads us to realise that Amar and Luna are also Muslim, although they do not attend mosque and enjoy a lifestyle of drinking, clubbing and relaxed sex.
The culture clash comes across as clumsy, like when Amar literally bumps into Bahrija and Luna gets her first glimpse of his burka-clad wife, leading to a bad-taste ninja comment.
Bahrija offers Amar a well-paid job, which he accepts despite Luna’s upset. Her fears increase when Amar is whisked away to an unknown destination, which turns out to be an idyllic lakeside encampment for Wahhabi Muslims.
Despite the weird way Amar ran off to take up an undefined job, it takes days for Luna to even question that anything might be amiss. Finally, after not hearing from Amar for some days, she demands to be taken to him. When she arrives by motor boat at a shore of women washing clothes in the lake and picking up sticks, it’s like she’s arrived in a different world. Clearly, we’re not in Kansas anymore.
Even when she is within the conservative Wahhabi community where men and women are separated and her questions remain unanswered, Luna takes it in her stride. If I was in her position, I’d like to think I’d kick up more of a stink. It takes days for her to even see Amar and ask him to come home.
Apparently we’re meant to believe that Amar has gone through some sort of religious brain-washing within this fundamentalist community and he’s having none of it. He refuses to go and Luna leaves alone. This is where I have an issue with the script. Amar’s dramatic character shift is so extreme and sudden, it is simply not believable. In no way could I believe in his over-night transition into a hard-line religious zealot.
Next we jump forward a few weeks – during which Luna continues her IVF treatment even though she has now taken to messy nights dancing until dawn – and Amar walks back into their home. Clearly he is a changed man. His attitude to religion (and life) has dramatically transformed, evidenced by his adoption of morning prayers, his rejection of sex before marriage (although they’ve been at it for years) and his refusal to shake the hand of his female friends.
Finally Luna wakes up to the fact that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. These changes have severely altered the dynamic of their relationship, probably beyond remedy. Thankfully, in a scene where you are almost shouting at her to stop, Luna makes a last minute decision not to go through with her IVF treatment, telling Amar she no longer wants a baby with him. After all, why screw up one more life?
As the film ends, we are left hanging. Do Luna and Amar remain together or separate? Does Luna adapt to Amar’s new ways or does he revert to old form? Do we actually care what happens to them? To be honest, no. I didn’t invest in their relationship and couldn’t see how they’d lasted so long anyway. Good riddance, I say.
Cvitesic and Lucev are both well-proven actors and here they turn in good natural performances and do their best with the script. The beautiful Cvitesic is especially captivating. That I don’t for one moment believe in them as a couple is no fault of their acting.
The fine cinematography is also highly effective, creating poetic images of the lake, camp and Bosnian countryside.
For me, the idea of Na Putu was more interesting than the actual film. I didn’t relate to the characters, the pace was drawn out and, at key moments, the story seemed awkward. If it was Žbanić’s intention to leave a lingering impression with a film that provokes thought, encourages discussion and demands consideration, I’m afraid she missed the mark with me.
No comments yet.
Be first to leave your comment!