★★½☆☆
Until Days End is a romance drama with a political backdrop that feels as if it’s trying to recapture the brilliance of Breathless, Godard, and the idea that all you need to tell a great story is a guy, a girl, and a gun.
Jelena Maksimović’s latest film tries to capture an emotionally compelling drama, blended with a political undertone that is neither biased nor preachy.
“Leaving us with an incredibly relevant narrative that is, like the world, broken, torn, and lacking clarity through the noise.”
Penned by Jelena Maksimović, Ivan Salatić, and Olga Dimitrijević, the film follows Lena, an anarchist student, and Stefan, a pro-government youth, who fall for each other despite being on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
Offering an insightful and rich concept that, due to a lack of development, feels flat and hollow.
The script’s setup is rather crisp and clear about who the characters are and what they represent.
She is a college student who is engaged in the political scene. She has these enriched ideologies and beliefs, is very adamant about them, and is overly eager to change the world.
He is a working-class guy who is what we would call, in the States, an average Joe. He’s a mix of blue-collar worker and entry-level wise guy.
Both are from the same neighborhood but live very different lives. Yet they are more alike than their political status would lead one to believe.
This is where the script lacks development, a clear vision, and insight.
Their history, interactions, and connection are limited, yet the story wants us to believe that they are star-crossed lovers.
That she would flee with him while he was on the run from the law and leave her life behind. Yet they barely interact before the life-altering incident occurs.
Jelena Maksimović’s direction doesn’t help, for it’s messy, disoriented, and scattered.
From the opening scene, it appears Maksimović’s approach is this rough, gritty tone.
Yet the execution feels more disastrous than raw and real. It doesn’t appear that there is a clear vision of what the film is supposed to be.
Every aspect of the film feels disconnected and pieced together in post-production without proper placement.
That disconnect bleeds into every other aspect of the film, with the exception of the performances, which are the backbone of the film, carrying it across the finish line.
“Lena Trifunović’s performance is grounded, gritty, and beholds the perfect amount of angst that makes it feel authentic.”
She breathes life into the character, which would otherwise feel flat.
Andrija Krivokapić, who plays the love interest, matches her energy, but on a different level.
“His restraint is what brings the character to form in such a memorable light.”
Paul Spengemann’s cinematography is one of the fallouts from the lack of a clear and compelling vision.
The shots are sloppy and unchecked, from the storyboard to the screen. The choppy and disorienting visuals hinder the film to the point that it becomes hard to watch at times.
It’s unclear what exactly the vision was or the purpose behind some of the shots.
The opening scene, with the moving piano and the way the camera sits on top and shifts with the POV, as if it’s found footage, creates a feeling of disconnection and sloppiness. This is something we see often throughout the film. Not a lack of proper visuals due to the production budget, but a lack of vision and execution.
Ultimately, the film has an interesting concept and narrative that is engaging enough and relevant to current events to create an emotional pull. Yet it lacks the execution and development to elevate it to a point of remembrance.
While there are many films on the festival circuit this year that address and use political division as the centerpiece of the story, Until Days End offers a different angle and insight compared to Yellow Letters and How to Divorce During the War.
Allowing us to experience the love story in reverse, yet it doesn’t quite capture the character development or insight needed to fulfill the story or character narrative.
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