Role Model / Vzornik
Slovenia, Czech Republic, Italy, Serbia 2023
Directed by Nejc Gazvoda, drama, coming of age, 99 min, eng subtitles, 16+
Written by Nejc Gazvoda, Tomislav Zajec
With France Mandić, Mojca Funkl, Jure Henigman, Vesna Pernarčič, Klara Kuk
A small town in Slovenia in the middle of the Covid epidemic. Maja is a school psychologist at the elementary school where her son Jan (14) is in the final grade. Jan is extremely lonely, hurt by the divorce of his parents, and suffering abuse at school. If he wants to survive these last months in school, he has to get rid of the strange title of “sunshine” that the bullies have given him. He finds solace in a mysterious man, also named Jan, who lives in the flat opposite and is as violent as he is infantile. Meanwhile, Maja starts to drink again, feeling lost and threatened by the newcomer Neja, a competitive young psychologist.
A suggestive film shedding light on the problems of many teenagers today – loneliness, peer violence, and self-esteem.