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What a Country!

What a Country!

2018

Director

Vinko Brešan

Runtime

118 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

A story about suicidal general, a minister in the Croatian government who voluntarily locks himself inside a prison cell, and 4 pensioners, who steal the coffin with the remains of the late Croatian president.

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Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

4.1/10

Fair


Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Minimal

The film lacks any discernible LGBTQ+ characters or storylines. The narrative remains strictly confined to the traditionalist social structures of the early 1990s.

Gender Representation

Limited

The story operates within a heavily male-centric framework typical of war dramas. It portrays a breakdown of traditional masculine leadership through farce rather than providing female agency.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Fair

The cast is predominantly homogeneous, reflecting the specific ethnic context of the Croatian setting. It focuses on internal South Slavic tensions rather than intersectional casting.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Excellent

The film offers a progressive deconstruction of nationalistic sanctity. It portrays state institutions and mourning rituals as inherently corrupt, absurd, and dysfunctional through postmodern satire.

Disability Representation

Limited

There is no significant evidence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities being afforded agency. The focus remains on political absurdity and the psychological toll of war.

Strengths

  • Sophisticated use of postmodern satire to critique nationalistic and institutional sanctity.
  • Effective subversion of traditional patriotic cinema and heroic archetypes.
  • Strong deconstruction of the corruption and absurdity within state institutions.

Areas for Improvement

  • Lack of LGBTQ+ representation or non-heteronormative storylines.
  • Minimal female agency within a heavily male-centric narrative framework.
  • Absence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities.

AI Analysis

Vinko Brešan’s satire succeeds by dismantling the heroic myths of nationalism. By framing government and military institutions as chaotic and incompetent, the film provides a sophisticated critique of systemic state authority and patriotic solemnity. However, the film struggles with demographic breadth. It is a deeply male-centric narrative that lacks representation for LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, or diverse racial identities, remaining tethered to a specific historical era's social norms. Ultimately, the work trades traditional demographic inclusivity for high-level cultural subversion. It prioritizes the deconstruction of institutional stability over the representation of marginalized identities.

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