Filmofil.ba sa ponosom predstavlja kritike mladih autora nastale u okviru ovogodišnjeg programa Talents Sarajevo na 22. Sarajevo Film Festivalu

Piše: Andreea Pătru Prevod sa engleskog: Bojana Pušara

Film Milice Tomović Transition (Tranzicija) predstavlja ženu koja ne može da se poistovjeti sa spolom koji joj je priroda dodijelila, te samim tim i njenu ranjivost odnosno promjene kroz koje prolazi. Srbijanska režiserka se fokusira na izuzetno odglumljenu unutrašnju ličnu borbu, ne obraćajući pažnju na osuđujuće stavove prema ovako kontraverznoj temi. Dok se drugi filmovi iz ove oblasti uglavnom bave skandaloznošću uz suprimiranje samih likova bez obzira na spol, Transition više obrađuje sam proces i hrabrost da budemo ono što istinski jesmo. Film postavlja željenu atmosferu definišućom scenom muškobanjaste Jane, koja izvodi malu predstavu u ogledalu dok češlja kosu i divi se zamišljenoj sebi. Ponosno pokazuje svoje mišiće, a gledalac može da zaključi kako ona ispod svog pazuha nikada ne uklanja dlake. Kako radnja filma odmiče, shvatamo da ona provodi posljednja dva dana sa ljudima koje voli prije nego što tajno izvede krucijalnu promjenu u svom životu. Iako ona sa svim tim ljudim nije potpuno iskrena i govori im kako planira da nastavi studiranje u Michiganu, neki njeni prijatelji već znaju koje su njene namjere.

Konstrast je postignut između njene čvrsto donesene odluke i načina na koji je ljudi doživljavaju kao žensku osobu, što daje samoj radnji filma iznenađujući tok. Neprekidno joj govore da dobro izgleda i da je prelijepa, iako ni u čemu ne djeluje ženstveno. Dok Jana u svoj svojoj ljepoti nosi teret odluke da promijeni svoj život, gledalac nema nikakve informacije o njenoj prošlosti ili razlozima same odluke. Nije jasno da li je odluka bila dio odrastanja, kao u filmu Céline Sciamma Tomboy iz 2011. Ne čini se da je u pitanju životna faza, jer iako je Jana mlada, buntovna i svira u rock bendu, ona je potpuno zrela osoba koja ne djeluje ni najmanje zbunjeno po pitanju spolne orijentacije. Režisererka nam donosi osvježavajući osvrt na ovu temu bez karakterističnih moralnih sumnji i bira da punu pažnju posveti Janinom donošenju odluke. Spori ritam promjena prikazuje napetost koju proživljava Jana, ali njihova fluidnost ukazuje na njenu pomirenost sa onim što je odlučila.

Borba između društvenih očekivanja i Janinog unutrašnjeg dojma da nije zadovoljna sama sobom mudro je predstavljena sukobom sa bivšim ljubavnikom koji ne želi da ona ode. Kadrovi snimljeni preko ramena savršeno oslikavaju Janinu odlučnost u borbi sa posljedicama svojih želja i poteškoću da kaže naglas šta želi da promijeni. Vrlo je malo krupnih kadrova u filmu koji prikazuju Janino zadovoljstvo svojim izborima, ali i njenu svjesnost da će naredni postupci dovesti do gubitka povjerenja kod ljudi koji je vole. Nakon filma neko će možda i dalje željeti detaljniji prikaz ovih događaja, ali upravo manjak informacija čini ovaj film jedinstvenim. Na kraju, Milica Tomović je izabrala da napravi film koji se više bavi raspoloženjem nego podacima vezanim za spolove i seksualnost i to radi na jednostavan i prirodan način.

Fillmofil.ba proudly represents the works of young critics done in program Talents Sarajevo of 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival

Transition: In a simple natural way

Written by: Andreea Pătru Translation: Bojana Pušara

Milica Tomović's Transition (Tranzicija) is about the changes and vulnerability of a woman who cannot identify with her assigned gender. The Serbian director focuses on her character’s remarkably played inner struggle, leaving behind the judgement calls of such a controversial topic. While other gender-challenging films focus on the scandalous aspect and on suppressing one's masculine or feminine features, Transition is rather about the journey and the courage of becoming your true self. The film sets the tone with a defining scene of the boyish Jana who does a little bit of role-playing in the mirror, while combing her hair and admiring her imagined self. She proudly flexes her muscles, and we can see a hint of her full-grown armpit hair. As the story unfolds, we learn that these are the last two days with her beloved ones before leaving to secretly make a crucial adjustment in her life. Even if she is not completely honest with the entire bunch, telling them that she is leaving to pursue her studies in Michigan, some of her friends are already aware of her actual intentions.

The contrast between her bold decision and the way she is perceived is a nice addition to the plot and makes it even more surprising. She is repeatedly called good-looking or beautiful, even though she does not have a feminine attitude or posture. While she splendidly enacts the burden of her life-changing decision, there is no background information about her past or reasoning. It is not obvious if Jana came up with her choice as a part of a coming-of-age story, like in Céline Sciamma’s Tomboy (2011). It does not look like a phase – although young and rebellious, playing in a rock band, Jana is a fully-grown woman who does not seem gender-confused. The director brings a fresh look on gender reassignment without the typical moralist discourse and prefers to focus on Jana’s difficult decision. The slow pace of the editing builds up the tension she must be going through, but also gives a sort of fluidity that comes from the feeling of Jana being conciliated with her decision.

Moreover, the battle between social expectations and Jana’s internal feelings of being uncomfortable with herself is cleverly expressed through a scene between her ex-lover confronting her departure. The use of over-the-shoulder shots functions perfectly to articulate Jana’s reluctance to deal with the deadweight of her decision and hints at the difficulty of voicing out loud her desire to change.  With very few frontal shots showing Jana’s contentment with her option, the character realises that this gain of confidence will cost her the loss of her beloved ones. And while one might feel the need for more detailed premises for this transition, its mysterious path is the one that makes it original. In the end, it is Milica Tomović’s merit to create a piece that has more to do with mood rather than with details out of the flexibility of sex and gender in a simple natural way.