Capsule Film Review: Josef (2011)

World War One was almost never a subject of Croatian films. One of rare examples is Josef, 2011 film directed by Stanislav Tomić with a script inspired by an urban legend which is very popular in countries of former Yugoslavia. The plot is set on the Eastern Front during Spring 1915, where two empires – Russia and Austria-Hungary - fight over control of Galicia (today's Western Ukraine). Croatian soldiers fight for the latter, and one of them is nameless protagonist (played by Neven Aljinović-Tot), who becomes a sole survivor of Russian attack that wiped out his unit. Assuming that his superiors would shoot him for cowardice and desertion, he takes an identity of a NCO that was killed during the attack. Captain Tiffenbach, his new superior (played by Alen Liverić), doesn't believe him, but before he has a chance to properly investigate the matter and have him shot, his unit is attacked by Russian Circassian cavalry led by Captain Serjoža (played by Dražen Šivak). Shot with relatively small budget, Josef uses special effects and innovative direction to give credible reconstruction of WW1 carnage, although combat scenes are based more on those in westerns than those dealing with trench warfare. Problem for Josef is an script by Mario Marko Krce, that is incomprehensible to anyone unfamiliar with certain chapters of history, especially those dealing with early life of certain well-known historical person. Those viewers who are familiar with that will be, at first entertained with the way Josef trying to reconstruct the urban legend, and the way it provides an interesting, but credible plot twist in the middle. Unfortunately, the abrupt ending brings another plot twist, which is unecessary and not believable, creating impression that the fillmmakers at the end lost budget, inspiration or both.

RATING: 5/10