Directed by: Vladimir Paskaljevic , Serbia, 2009, 82 min., black comedy / English subtitles
Cast: Lazar Ristovski, Marija Zeljkovic, Mina Colic, Slavko Stimac, Jana Milic
A stylish black comedy about life in contemporary Belgrade that satirizes the moral malaise clouding Serbia, Devil's Town is savagely funny yet frightening, plausible but absurd––a scorching exposé of the national character. With a host of top actors playing city dwellers whose lives intersect on a hot summer day while the country's tennis stars compete in an important tournament, the cleverly structured film features multiple crisscrossing plotlines involving parents and children. The story starts and ends with tennis-crazy Jelena, the penniless daughter of a cleaning lady, who puts up with humiliation and abuse from haughty Ivana, the daughter of her mother's nouveau-riche employer, simply to get a racket and a chance to play. Meanwhile, subsequent encounters continue the tennis motif and up the ante for bad behaviour. As debuting writer-director Vladimir Paskaljevic's tightly constructed script playfully connects the dramatis personae in unexpected ways, it also challenges viewers' first impressions.
