Nikolina Kujaca Movies
- 2007
Three sisters living in an ancient city known for its toxic lead factory strive to break free from their past and get something more out of life in director Teona Strugar Mitevska's darkly comic family drama. In a fractured landscape where communism and capitalism have both failed, virginal 27-year-old Afrodita (Labina Mitevska) lives in a modest home with her twin sister Sapho (Nikolina Kujaca) and their older sibling Slavica (Ana Kostovska). Afrodita has remained mute ever since her mother walked out on the family and her father died, and Sapho is a promiscuous handball player whose many conquests fail to provide personal fulfillment. Slavica is a 35-year-old recovering drug addict whose radiant beauty can't make up for the fact that she is perceived by many as damaged goods. If only Afrodita and Sapho could find their lonely sibling a suitable mate who could also stand as the family breadwinner, perhaps they could take the tentative first steps toward escaping their noxious hometown. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Labina Mitevska, Nikolina Kujaca, (more)
A man near the end of his life relives a crucial period from his youth in this powerful drama. Lem Nikodinoski (Meto Jovanovski) is a prominent Macedonian politician who has suffered a severe heart attack. As Lem drifts between life and death, his mind wanders to his childhood, and he observes his younger self (played by Saso Kekenovski) during his days in a camp for children whose parents were unwilling to embrace Russia's Stalinist regime following World War II. Ariton (Mitko Apostolovski), the camp's headmaster, is a strong taskmaster, but he displays a genuine compassion for his charges; Olivera (Verica Nedeska), his second in command, takes a more stern approach, and is willing to dole out physical punishment to any child who does not absorb her Stalinist teachings. One day, a new boy enters the camp, Isak (Maja Stankovska), who displays a calm but resilient nature that's different from the fearful attitudes of the other children. After initial resistance, Lem becomes close friends with Isak, and their friendship helps Lem confront the horrors of camp life in a new way. Writer and director Ivo Trajkov cast teenage actress Maja Stankovska to play Isak after a long series of unsuccessful auditions failed to find a young man who had the right look for the role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Saso Kekenovski, Maja Stankovska, (more)
Love and war divide two brothers in a drama from award-winning director Milcho Manchevski, his first since his acclaimed 1994 debut Pred Dozhdot. After an elderly woman (Rosemary Murphy) gets the better of a burglar (Adrian Lester) who has broken into her apartment, she decides to tell him a story about her family to give him a perspective on an individual's legacy to their family. Luke (David Wenham) and Elijah (Joseph Fiennes) are brothers and cowboys in the American West near the turn of the century. Luke and Elijah are both in love with Lilith (Anne Brochet), a woman who works in an upscale brothel, and when Elijah marries her, it puts a permanent rift in his relationship with his brother. Luke leaves the country and travels to Macedonia, where he becomes involved with a group of resistance fighters who are trying to topple Turkish occupation of their land; a skilled gunman, Luke soon becomes a valuable member of the Macedonian nationalist forces, and falls in love with Neda (Nikolina Kujac), a woman fighting alongside the loyalists. However, Luke discovers he can't entirely leave his past behind when he discovers Elijah has become a hired gun who has joined the Turkish forces. Dust was the opening night attraction at the 2001 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Fiennes, David Wenham, (more)
