Midwinter Night’s Dream

Midwinter Night’s Dream tells the simple story of an ex-convict who comes home after 10 years, only to find two squatters in the form of a woman and her autistic daughter. Though Lazar (Lazar Ristovski) initially plans to kick out Jasna (Jasna Zalica) and Jovana (Jovana Mitic), he changes his mind after seeing the squalid conditions of the shelter they are to move into. This is the sort of movie one can imagine Hollywood remaking down the road with George Clooney and Julia Roberts, though there’s no doubt that the various rough edges in Filip David and Goran Paskaljevic’s screenplay would be excised. Director Paskaljevic imbues the film with the feel of a documentary, eschewing fancy camerawork in favor of a more naturalistic style. This is echoed in the performances, which are suitably subtle; Mitic is so effective it’s hard not to wonder if she’s actually autistic. And though the film does go on for a little longer than necessary, there’s no denying the power of these three characters and their newly formed makeshift family.

*** out of ****