What is home? Is it a physical place; a smell; a dish; a sound? Or is it more of an idea; a state of mind; a sense of nostalgia; a feeling? Is it a particular community of people? All of these questions pulsate through Marijana Jankovic’s feature length debut, appropriately titled Hjem. And it’s these questions that cause doubt, hope, joy, regret and despair. It’s these questions that haunt the characters we meet.
The film opens in the former Yugoslavia in 1991, with rumblings of conflict and a crippled economy. We meet Marko (Dejan Cukic) and his wife, Vera (Nada Sárgin), who toil all day on their farm only to not receive a salary from their landlord and face the threat of their electricity being cut. When a family member returns home from Denmark, they wonder if the Scandinavian country could be the land of milk and honey for their young, struggling family. However, they are forced to choose just one child to bring with them, their daughter, Maja, leaving behind their two sons on the family farm.
What is so interesting about Hjem is the way in which each country is presented. The family farm is the perfect bucolic scene – verdant landscapes, clear blue skies and splashes of sunshine yellow. But the reality could not be further from this. The reality is being low balled for your produce; increasingly scary TV news reports; checkpoints; lack of opportunities; three generations of one family sleeping in one room. Equally, Copenhagen is full of twinkling lights and warmly coloured apartment blocks. Tivoli Gardens is lush and tranquil; a place where you can learn to ride a bike and stroll as a family. These scenes, too, belie a seedier truth. Marriage fraud; debts; low paying jobs; apartment shares.
More than this, writer / director Marijana Jankovic really captures the isolation of immigration, both through the eyes of a child and the experiences of adults. How do you navigate a new city, learn a new language, fill out all the right paperwork, register where you need to and save money for a brighter future? What happens when all your schoolmates speak a different language; eat different foods? It’s particularly telling, as the film progresses, that Maja begins to take on a parental role, translating for her parents as they struggle to find work or make appointments.
A taste of home – be it through community celebrations, a call at a pay phone or a family meal – is bittersweet. Marko often has flashbacks to moments on the farm with his two sons; moments that feel hopeful and joyous. Jankovic really underlines this ‘push and pull’ notion of being split between two homes. It raises questions of identity, poverty, immigration and exploitation. We see Marko and Vera hand over huge chunks of cash or be subject to (polite but tense) visits from immigration. It feels like debt after debt; setback after setback. It’s rough to watch.
The acting is fantastic, throughout. Dejan Cukic, in particular, is captivating. His heartbreak, his frustration, his fear, his feelings of failure are all so utterly palpable. His determination to be a good father, husband and provider is noble and understandable. Marko’s smile rarely reaches is his eyes and it’s with his eyes that Cukic betrays his character’s real feelings. It’s a raw, authentic kind of performance that is entirely empathetic.
Nada Sárgin, too, offers an excellent portrait of weariness. In leaving her sons behind, her heart is immediately torn in two. She is resilient and a survivor but there is more than a hint of downtrodden about her. The young actress playing Maja is equally brilliant. Her confused stares and her wistful glances are gorgeously framed. We get a real sense of how quickly she has had to grow up and assimilate (for the sake of her parents, as well as herself). There are also cameos from the likes of Trine Dyrholm, Claes Bang and Jesper Christensen which flesh out the narrative well.
Hjem is a strong, authentic and emotional debut from writer/director Marijana Jankovic, who weaves in her own experiences of leaving behind Montenegro for Denmark. The performances are solid, empathetic, and the core themes are explored with depth and directness. It doesn’t seek to offer the “happily ever after” type ending, instead it lays bare the realities of finding somewhere new to call home.
Hjem will screen at Rotterdam Film Festival.
“Hjem is a strong, authentic and emotional debut from writer/director Marijana Jankovic”
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