Seven and a Half

Cinequest 2007
San Jose, CA

Seven and a Half presents seven stories, each representing one of the seven deadly sins. These humorous and sometimes absurd stories, as enacted by residents of Belgrade, demonstrate that greed, sloth, anger, lust, pride, gluttony and envy are universal human traits.

Director Miroslav Momcilovic; Producers Miroslav Momcilovic, Branislav Trifunovic; Executive Producer Igor Turcinovic; Screenwriter Miroslav Momcilovic; Cinematographer Dimitrije Jokovic; Editor Predrag Bogojevic; Composers Boris Bunjac, Vladimir Divljan; Cast Nenad Jezdic, Branislav Trifunovic, Gordan Kicic, Ljubinka Klaric, Marija Karan, Boris Molovojevic; Milos Timotijevic, Milan Gutovic, Aleksandra Jankovic, Dubravko Jovanovic, Mladen Nelevic, Milos Samolov, Ana Stanic, Nikola Vujovic; 110min; Serbia; Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles.

So I actually saw this on Saturday night. I'm just playing "catch up" after a long weekend and an even longer Monday...

Saturday was the second to last day of the festival and I was running out of time. I had to make some tough decisions. And at 9pm it was between this and Maria's Men, a story about a single mom who decides to start dating again. You would think I would have been leaning strongly in favor of the latter, but if you know me (and I'm sure you do!), I will always pick something existential and weird over anything remotely approaching reality. (Reality? Phhht! Who needs that? I get "reality" every day. Give me fantasy, man!)

Seven and a Half was humorous, at times wincingly accurate, and surprisingly poignant. With each "chapter" we are introduced to two or more seemingly unrelated characters who represent one of the seven deadly sins. The characters approach-- but never quite cross over into-- caricature. Two young con artists try to cash in on the scam of a lifetime (Greed); two theives can't quite make it up 23 flights of stairs for their big heist (Sloth); a bodybuilder on steroids has a driving agenda (Anger); two aging internet pedophiles end up finding each other instead of their dream girl (Lust); a young married couple on a quiz show prove that wit is no match for sheer stubborn (Pride); a man and woman demonstrate they have no gastronomic limitations at a food art exhibit (Gluttony); and two men seethe over the apparent good fortune of a neighborhood bar owner (Envy). At times absurd and even pathetic, each character retains a sympathetic humanity-- they are not so far off from each one of us.

It was fun to see the filmmakers' gradual weaving together of the storylines: a background character would pop up in one scene, then later show up in another. The two barflys showed up more than once until we finally got to their story near the end.

In the end, they all end up in the hospital through one plot device or other, nursing their wounds, physical or psychological. A child comes into the world, an old woman leaves, and the film ends with a lullaby.

Oh, and that Half? I think that Half is the better half of us, that part that redeems us when the other half fails.