Global Lens 2007 is a monthly film series created to promote cross-cultural understanding through the universal language of cinema during a time of great change throughout the world.

Fine Dead Girls (Fine Mertve Djevojke)
Directed by Dalibor Matanić
In Croatian with English subtitles
Croatia, 2002, 77 minutes

When her son is kidnapped, Iva suspects Olga, the domineering old woman who runs the building where Iva used to live. Iva explains to the police that although Olga may look normal, she is entirely crazy. She keeps an angry and suspicious eye on her more stable tenants, which include a war veteran and a doctor who keeps watch over his emotionally disturbed son, but doesn’t seem to mind the apartment that gives off a terrible odor, as though someone had died. She pays no mind to the prostitutes living in the building, but is obsessed with Iva’s intimate relationship with Marija, a woman who appears to be more than just a friend. And when the communal harmony of the building fractures into violence, Olga’s irrational anger at Iva and Marija seems to justify Iva’s suspicion that she may indeed be behind the kidnapping, and what will ultimately turn into a painful conflict generating vivid echoes of Croatia’s recent, violent past.

 “. . . a seething tale of petty hatreds and violent desire . . . yet Fine Dead Girls does offer some hope for redemption and healing. Matanić has built a fine film out of the ruins of his homeland.”
-Chris Cooke, New England Film  

2003 Grand Prix for best Croatian film

Critics’ Prize Oktavijan for Best Film

Audience Prize Golden Gate for Best Film