A Wonderful Night in Split
| Ta divna splitska noć | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Arsen Anton Ostojić |
| Produced by | Jozo Patljak |
| Written by | Arsen Anton Ostojić |
| Starring |
Dino Dvornik Marija Škaričić Coolio Mladen Vulić |
| Music by | Mate Matišić |
| Cinematography | Mirko Pivčević |
| Edited by | Dubravko Slunjski |
|
Release date
|
July 21, 2004, Croatia |
|
Running time
|
100 mins |
| Language | Croatian, English |
A Wonderful Night in Split (Croatian: Ta divna splitska noć) is a 2004 Croatian drama film directed by Arsen Anton Ostojić.
The film is set over the course of a New Year's Eve night in the Croatian port city of Split, where it follows three parallel plots. The first plot line features a small-time drug dealer Nike (Mladen Vulić) and a young widow Marija (Nives Ivanković); the second plot line deals with a drug addict called Maja (Marija Škaričić) who decides to have sex with an US Navy sailor called Franky (Coolio) in exchange for some heroin; the third one shows a young couple, Luka and Anđela (Vicko Bilandžić and Ivana Roščić) who spend the night desperately looking for a place to celebrate the New Year by having their first sexual experience. The plots are connected through a drug dealer Crni (Marinko Prga), through Dino Dvornik's concert, where all of them pass through at some point, and through the omnipresent fireworks that dot the night sky over the course of the film.
Ostojić had considered a role for Dino Dvornik ever since he started writing the screenplay, seeing him as a person who best embodies the spirit of the city of Split. Dvornik readily accepted the offer, taking keen interest in the story, and even gave several suggestions that made it into the film.
Since the film was designed as a visual commentary of social problems that Split is well known for in Croatia, depicted here as always involving drugs and awkward relationships, the whole film was shot in black-and-white photography. The resulting effect is an atmosphere of anxiety and depression, set to contrast the colorful mood of open-air New Year celebrations in Split's main square.
The film won the Golden Arena awards for Best Cinematography (Marko Pivčević) and Best Film Editing (Dubravko Slunjski) at the 2004 Pula Film Festival, as well as the Birch award for best directing debut and the Oktavijan critics' choice award.
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