- Location: The Goethe Institute
- Ljubav i drugi zlocini, which translates to Love and Other Crimes, chronicles a very significant day in the lives of several members of a Serbian criminal organization. For Anica (Anica Dobra), this is the day she intends to steal the gang's money before leaving town for good. But first, she needs to tie up some loose ends, including confessing to her senile grandmother and enacting revenge upon an ex-boyfriend. For Stanislav (Vuk Kostic), a mob enforcer, this is the day when he's finally going to admit to Anica that he has loved her for the past ten years, assuming his mother's (Milena Dravic) fading musical career doesn't get in the way. For Milutin (Fedja Stojanovic), the head of the organization, this is just another long day of gang wars made worse by his family problems. Specifically, his daughter Ivana (Hanna Schwamborn) has picked this day to perch herself on the ledge of their towering apartment, while his lover Anica...well, we already know what she has planned. Yes, a busy day in all respects.
- While Milutin and Ivana are both far too taciturn (or even semi-catatonic) to really hold the audience's attention, the interactions between Anica and Stanislav are characteristically charming and humorous. Their visits to Anica's ex-boyfriend and the video editor, in particular, are entertaining even if they don't really fit into the rest of the film. Additionally, the film's settings are beautifully bleak, complete with grey skies and gigantic communist-era apartment complexes. The film's real distinction for me, however, arrives with its ending. I can honestly say that nearly no American film, independent or otherwise, would ever be brave enough to end as this one did. Not only do the two lovers not end up together, but one of them is killed in a sudden act of gang revenge. As Tamara points out, this is a Serbian comedy-drama. Don't even ask about their tragedies.
- Apparently, every malfunctioning electronic device in Serbia can be fixed by hitting it ala The Fonz.
- This was my first Serbian film.
