Lijepa vecer, lijep dan (Croatian) [Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day]

Set in communist Yugoslavia during the late 1950s, this film presents a jarring blend of beauty and devastation. We follow a group of friends working in film who find themselves hunted, humiliated, and punished solely because of their homosexuality. It is a devastating cinematic experience that explores the heavy price of bravery, loyalty, and standing firm in one’s convictions.

The story centers on four friends—Lovro, Nenad, and two others—who once fought together as partisans against the Nazis during WWII. By the late fifties, sixteen years later, they have achieved fame as filmmakers. Their status as former military service members provides them with government backing, allowing Lovro and Nenad to work on set undisturbed and live their relationship openly, a fact even their parents accept. However, complications arise when Lovro attempts to sneak a scene into their latest film implying that a border guard and a soldier from the Yugoslav People’s Army eloped to Italy, an act spotted by a member of the censorship board monitoring the production. This leads to the arrival of Emir, a middle-aged bureaucrat positioned in the middle ranks, who is quietly instructed to sabotage the film from within without an official mandate. Interestingly, Emir is not actually troubled by the couple being gay; his sole purpose is to destroy the production. His attempt at sabotage fails when he gets caught in a fire, and it is the four friends who ultimately rescue him. Feeling a sense of debt, he invites them to his sister’s seaside home for a relaxing weekend, failing to realize the danger this could trigger. The government seizes this opportunity to out them as gay, arresting them and transporting them to Barren Island, a notorious prison colony of that era where the ocean served as a natural barrier in place of cells. The movie does not avoid depicting the torture gay people endured during that time. After Emir discovers the truth of what transpired, he attempts to intervene and save them, though the film concludes with things left quite unresolved.

Set against the backdrop of 1957, the film takes place just after Yugoslavia escaped Nazi fascism only to fall under the communist rule of Tito, a leader who showed little mercy to those who spoke out, especially gay people. The stunning black and white cinematography weaves together undercover surveillance and political scheming with scenes of horrific cruelty from government agents and moments of tender love. From the very start, the movie plunges us into an explicit sex scene between Lovro and Nenad, and similar scenes are scattered throughout the runtime to help establish their relationship. Once Emir’s sabotage plot begins, the narrative gets quite busy; we are introduced to a wide array of characters as the government attempts to turn several of these friends against one another, Nenad included. This leads to a brutal torture sequence after he provides them with some vague, half useless info. By the final stretch, the film becomes a harsh, unflinching portrait of cruelty that somehow maintains an artistic feel. My feelings on this one are somewhat split. While I understand the director is aiming for something gritty and true to life, the sheer amount of information crammed onto the screen at times caused me to lose track of the plot. I couldn’t tell how the other two friends fit into the story or if one of them eventually betrayed the other, as that entire thread felt unclear. Even the ending provided no real closure, and I am still uncertain about the meaning behind the choice to switch to color for the last five minutes.

The intensity between Lovro and Nenad is never in short supply. Their connection feels authentic and heated, maintaining a raw quality that remains tasteful while pulling the viewer in and leaving them wanting more. Visually, the decision to use black and white cinematography was a smart call, resulting in a beautiful look throughout. Both lead actors are stunning to watch, delivering strong performances alongside the rewarding character development seen in Emir as the story progresses. However, the writing and the edit would have benefited from more polish. Certain scenes and characters felt unnecessary to the plot, and some segments lacked the context required for those coming to the film without prior background knowledge.

Ultimately, this remains a brave, gorgeous, and important film. It delivers a story of profound emotional weight, centered on gay filmmakers in post war Yugoslavia who are fighting to simply exist in a world striving to erase them, while simultaneously struggling to create their art. (7/10)