If you've seen one Croatian lesbian flick, you've seen ‘em all—literally. Director/co-writer Dalibor Matanic's well-made but relentlessly bleak 2002 Fine Dead Girls is the only entrant in the genre. Told mostly in flashback, the story revolves around Iva (Olga Pakalovic) and Marija (Nina Violic), a decent, loving young couple who rent a flat in a Zagreb apartment building. Their neighbors are, to say the least, an unappealing bunch: an old guy who keeps his dead wife propped up in their parlor, a doctor performing abortions in his back room, a battered spouse and her monstrous husband, and a prostitute whose clients include Marija's father (who hires the hooker to lure Iva away from his daughter)—but they're the Mormon Tabernacle Choir compared to landlady Olga (Inge Appelt), a hateful, officious old crone whose inclination to pure evil is matched only by that of her idiot son Daniel (Kresimir Mikic). The denouement is violent, grim, and ugly, with only a single act of decency (not entirely unexpected, but welcome nonetheless) by one of the film's few redeemable characters saving Fine Dead Girls from being a complete bummer. Optional. (S. Graham)
Fine Dead Girls
First Run, 77 min., in Croatian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $24.95 Volume 23, Issue 4
Fine Dead Girls
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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