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Handymen

Name: Handymen
Director: Dalibor Matanić
Released: 2013
Duration: 75 min

Representation Score

4.7/10

Fair

2013

Director

Dalibor Matanić

Runtime

75 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Handymen is a character-driven comedy that challenges established social hierarchies. It dismantles traditional marriage and masculine authority through its depiction of domestic instability. However, the film lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ or diverse racial identities and does not include characters with disabilities. Its strength lies in subverting gendered expectations of competence, even while operating within a localized European context.

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Category Breakdown

Does Handymen have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film centers on a traditional love triangle involving a woman and two men. There are no characters explicitly identified as LGBTQ+ or non-straight-centered.

How does Handymen portray gender?

Good

Keka challenges the stereotype of the submissive housewife by actively seeking personal control. Male characters are portrayed as incompetent, disrupting traditional patriarchal structures and domestic stability.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Handymen?

Limited

The story is set within a localized European context. There is no indication of diverse racial casting or characters who reflect more than one aspect of diversity of different backgrounds.

How does Handymen represent religion and culture?

Fair

The film questions traditional institutions such as marriage, presenting them as sources of suffering. It emphasizes individual freedom over maintaining conventional family structures.

Does Handymen include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no characters with physical, sensory, or neurodivergent disabilities mentioned in the narrative.

Present on Screen

Highlights female autonomy and control over personal decisions.
Challenges the 'reliable male provider' cliché through depictions of male incompetence.
Questions the sanctity of traditional family units in favor of individual fulfillment.

Limited or Absent

Could include more representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-traditional structures.
Should consider expanding the demographic framework to include more diversity.
Needs to provide representation of characters with disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Keka is a virtuoso housewife who suffers because of the lethargy of her marriage with Baja, a concerned railway worker. To make things even worse, Keka is being seriously courted by Ilija, a handyman who is so clumsy that he produces apocalypse wherever he shows up. After Baja finally becomes aware of Ilija's intentions and after the two of them demolish Keka's home as a result of their clumsy showdowns, Keka decides to leave both of them and to go on a trip to the only place where she felt some happiness - to a small coastal village where she and Baja went on their honeymoon... However, things start to complicate because Keka falls under the scrutiny of Lujo, an untypical lonely fisherman-flirter. Baja and Ilija decide to go on a trip, to embark on the biggest adventure in their lives and to prove their love to Keka...

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