Croatia had been part of Yugoslavia before becoming its own country in 1991. Arsen Anton Ostojić's "Ta divna splitska noć" ("A Wonderful Night in Split" in English) looks at the result. The movie is set during a rock festival in the coastal city of Split. Amid the festivities, there are stories involving a widow, a drug addict, and a couple looking for a way to consummate their relationship. The black-and-white cinematography creates a surreal feeling throughout the entire movie.Watching the movie, I was reminded of Jim Jarmusch's "Mystery Train", which features overlapping vignettes centering on a main topic. Much like how Jarmusch's movie looks at the underbelly of Memphis, Ostojić's movie looks at the underbelly of this ancient city on the Adriatic Sea. Is there any city that doesn't have an underbelly? Anyway, I recommend the movie. I guess that they cast rap artist Coolio (of "Gangsta's Paradise" fame) to add some ethnic diversity. Worth seeing.

Extraordinary sensibility for details and human behavior Mr. Ostojic, director and a writer of the film has an extraordinary talent for details. Although camera doesn't come too close to the subject, through behavior and emotional impact, situation and internal dialog as well as the tempo is an amazing journey. I was riveted to the last minute. Going back in time, made this movie more interesting, since we could see the same scene through the angel of someone else. Original as adding another layer of Film Language to the existing one. I followed Mr. Ostojic's development as an author and filmmaker. From The Bird Lover in 1993 to Life Drawing, to A Wonderful Night in Split. He is establishing himself as a mature artist. I expect only the best from him and will look for his new project with an expectation and anticipation to be as good as he's done it so far. BRAVO. Oscar is very possible.

This looked like another movie with people dying because they cannot cope with drugs, or with their emotional problems, or something. But it managed to keep my interest right up to the very last scene, and I am sorry I cannot tell you about it without spoiling it for you. I am glad I saw it, for the end left me wondering in a way I didn't expect at all.As for the technical aspects: Most of the actors were fine. I liked the black and white photography, and the rather claustrophobic way the camera follows the characters along the alleys. That, along with the overhead shots, does a lot to convey their feelings of entrapment. The structure of the script is no big news, but it works fine for me, specially the way the end presents itself. Good show!

"Ta divna splitska noc" belongs to the latest wave of Croatian movie-making, which has in the recent years kindled a new hope for the future of this cinematography. Following the trend, the film bursts with dark humor and honestly explores the painful sores of a frustrated post-war society.The storyline encompasses three loosely connected episodes, all of them taking place simultaneously during the final hours of seeing the Old Year out in the coastal city of Split, Croatia. There is some Tarantinoesque moving back and forth through time, though rather conservative as compared to "Pulp Fiction" - each of the three stories runs its course from start to end, to be followed by another. Some of the characters meander throughout the movie, some are resurrected from their deaths as we step back in time, but each of the stories is narrated as a linear episode in itself.The subject matter is deeply rooted in the dark side of the contemporary Croatian reality, focusing on dissipated war veterans, drug abuse, teenagers with no present or future, a general feeling of hopelessness. A war widow is having a torrid affair with her late husband's war buddy, who doesn't really care about her; a depressed American sailor is reluctantly fitted with a reluctant prostitute for the night; two teenagers consent to lose their virginity with each other, only to be faced with a lack of premises to do so. When the midnight finally arrives, the New Year brings forth not only the fireworks, but madness and violent death as well.Mirko Pivcevic shot the film in a lavish black-and-white photography, bringing to mind Robert Krasker's Viennese sewers of "The Third Man". Split is an ancient Mediterranean city and most of its historic core is carved in weathered stone, so it looks great by day and sensational by night, given a proper lighting. The overall production highly surpasses the film's modest budget. There are some minor flaws, such as amateurish rantings of Coolio's drunken sailor buddies, but most of the actors are up to their tasks, and the direction by Arsen Anton Ostojic is inspired. I particularly enjoyed the vigorous performance of the eccentric local celebrity, Dino Dvornik, as the Singer.