directed by:
Bartul Marušić written by: Bartul Marušić genre: Documentary |
When you read the name of this film, and you combine that with the intense music at the start and the visuals of Writer/Director Bartul Marušić walking the halls, “Filicide As A Means Of Revenge Against A Partner” feels extremely ominous right from the get-go. At the very least, it’s probably more of an anxiety-inducing sound and start to a film than you’d likely be expecting from a Documentary. The interview setting seems tense, from the empty business room where the conversation is happening, to what seems like more innocent observations about the whistles from construction workers across the street or the fact that the air conditioning isn’t working right, you can feel the temperature rising both literally and metaphorically as Bartul is vetted for his credentials and past in order to be able to shoot this story. As they recount his arrests and attempt to sort out the issues he’s faced in his past, you can see the interviewer holds a stern expression of determination as she tries to assess what’s true & what might not be, as Bartul does his best to keep the conversation light as he explains his side of the story.
Once the paperwork is signed, it’s explained to Bartul that basically, if there’s any funny business of any kind, misunderstandings or disruptive behaviour, the powers in charge will shut the whole thing down without blinking twice. Marušić’s nervousness is palpable. In his attempts to keep the conversation in a more upbeat direction with an outcome that is more favourable for the documentary he’s attempting to make, you can see his interviewer is painstakingly trying to keep him on topic and make sure that he’s understanding the full weight and gravity of the situation he’s embarking on. As an audience, we don’t even know just how serious this is all going to get yet, but if we’re to take our cues from what we see, Bartul seems incredibly eager to participate in this process, but he might very well be in over his head. He’s smiling now, though when it comes time for everything to officially start, he’ll undoubtedly feel the real pressure around him as he heads through the metal scanners and has his phone taken away. It’s a wild start in the sense that, again, you can tell by the very title of this film that you’re about to watch something that’s powerfully serious, and yet “Filicide As A Means Of Revenge Against A Partner” chooses to begin by putting us in a position where we have to wonder if the man behind it all is actually up to the task, and can meet the demands of what’s called for here in the moment to make this film. If you’re already familiar with the term filicide, you know that at some point very soon, Bartul Marušić’s film is going to get very grim due to its subject matter. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, I’ll sum it up for you as clearly as I can & say that it directly addresses a large array of the reasons as to why a parent would kill their own children. From depression to narcissism, brutal primitive instincts, to the revenge that the film’s title implies, filicide happens more than most people would likely dare to acknowledge, but it’s yet another of the sinister things that human beings do on this planet in the shadows and silence of its darkest corners. As the film itself will tell you, there is no such thing as justification for the crimes that you’ll learn about in watching this movie…but even in situations as extreme as a subject like this, there are still explanations. Marušić’s film really had me appreciating just how different those things are at the core of their definitions. It feels like justifications and explanations would go hand in hand, but among the many things this documentary will prove is that these two words have entirely different meanings. It is hard to explain what you cannot justify…but you cannot justify what you can’t explain. You might be stunned to learn that filicide can be caused pretty equally by both genders, though Bartul’s film will go on to detail there are many psychological reasons that separate why a man or woman would do something so unimaginably horrific. Perhaps one of the saddest details you’ll learn is that filicide is highly likely to end with a suicide by the person committing the act, yet males have a much higher success rate in killing themselves than females do. If ever there was a time for equality to truly present itself, you’d hope this would be it. No child should suffer, be abused, or be outright killed because of the fragile mental state of a parent, but this movie makes it clear that this happens so much more than we think. Some parents never get to a place where they feel like they accept their own children, which I can empathize with…I can understand that would be devastating. Some parents can’t provide what their children need, and again, I find myself empathizing with them there, too; that would be tremendously painful and sad. As this film tells you earlier on, though, this explains actions, but it can’t justify them.
With this film being somewhat set in Zagreb, you’ll likely be reading a lot of subtitles along the way. As for the way the information is presented to us, I’ll admit, it can feel a little fragmented or disconnected at times, though I don’t think we ever miss the main points it’s attempting to make. Some of it feels an awful lot like a reflection of that same nervousness that Marušić displays in the opening scenes, so like, when you go through an animated musical part in this film towards its halfway mark, it’s uncomfortable - like…it’s essentially impossible to lighten things up in a subject so heavy…and kind of seems like it’s a real strange idea to even try, but maybe that was just the way I perceived it. At its core, filicide is nothing but scary…a final act of expressing dominance or ownership to exact revenge on a former partner, or an attempt to escape what they feel is their own humiliation. It’s horrendous to even think about for the majority of us, and I assume that most people would simply think that there are programs available to stop situations like this from happening. I’m sure there are some, but things always manage to slip through the cracks when it comes to mental health and the protection of children. As a general rule, human beings have always proven that we should expect the unexpected, for better or for worse. Ultimately, “Filicide As A Means Of Revenge Against A Partner” scores its biggest wins by attempting to explain the inexplicable, and never falls into the trap of feeling like it’s trying to justify these actions. As to whether or not Marušić himself meets the moment…I think that’s harder to say for certain. While I’d be the first to commend him for making this film, creating awareness, and getting the information out there on a worldwide scale, at the same time, you’ve got moments like the nervous beginning, or later on where you can hear a little laughter in the background of a movie where even one laugh is probably going to be considered too many. Compounding the heartbreaking element is seeing how recently some of the people in this film have been victimized…like, current victims more or less - there’s one little boy in this documentary that you won’t be able to help worrying about from this moment forward. It’s an important subject to talk about, though, and without shedding light on this issue like Marušić has here, many people might not even be aware that it’s happening. I don’t think we get solutions here per se, but I don’t know that’s something that should be left entirely to a documentarian to provide, when that is the reason we pay our taxes for effective safety mechanisms to be provided by the government. In many ways, a film like this is an indictment of their failings to prevent family-based violence in society. As hard to watch as this film could be at times, it felt important to experience and learn from. I’m going with three and a half stars out of five…it can be a bit confusing, which is why I didn’t give it a four - but its main message still gets delivered. |
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