Excursion

 

Original Title: Ekskurzija

Directed by: Una Gunjak

Length: 93 min.

Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Year: 2023

Premiere: Locarno 2023

Synopsis: On the verge of the plans for an school trip for the end of middle school, teenager Iman decides to lie about a rumor regarding her sexual experiences to attract attention, and soon ends up at the center of a gossip among her schoolmates that spirals into a wider scandal.

RATING:  4/5

 

REVIEW

Una Gunjak's debut film has a natural and light atmosphere that makes it stand out from the plethora of coming-of-age films.

Excursion seemingly is "yet another" coming of age drama. Unlike many of its "counterparts", however, it somehow does not share their despair, hopelessness or general "heavyness", even if Excursion does indeed takes itself seriously, and there are several aspects of its situation that are rather dark. It somehow manages to reproduce the perspective of the protagonist with a natural feeling and immersion that is very difficult to achieve in cinema: there are scenes where Iman's feelings are palpable, her unease or her hopes, her disappointments or her joy, and the viewer can relate and empathise strongly, even without having lives her experiences.

Asija Zara Lagumdzija is outstanding in portraying a character that is unique and distinct - another positive feature of Excursion: its protagonist, Iman, is memorable, with a very distinct on-screen appearance, some strong character traits, which by extension make Excursion as a whole a more memorable coming-of-age film - if the label is acceptable, as Excursion does not feel like a film belonging to the genre as much as a film that is set on the backdrop of the genre, that goes beyond a label.

Rather than falling into an explicit social critique or a moralistic-ethical reading of the plot, Excursion maintains what's most important for a film: to be a narration, a story, not intrinsically a device for debate - debate has to be a consequence and not an integral requirement. It is not a film that employs its plot to tackle a very wide, universal subject as for example Explanation for Everything, but it nonetheless balances well the importance of story within the film's limits.

The distinctive appearance of Iman is also paralleled by the distinctive, vibrant look of the film. In a cinematic context that often prefers desaturated, offset palettes, Excursion looks energetic, colourful. It hardly feels like a debut feature film, rather the work of an estabilished filmmaker with a fully developed aesthetic tendency.

Originally posted on the instagram account @east.euro_flicks on February 8, 2024