Hell hath no fury like a (pregnant) woman scorned.
With all we know today, how could you bring a child into this world? A necessary deluge is on the horizon, and it comes in the form of an unsuspecting suitor…
In his directorial debut, Aleksandar Radivojević takes us to hell and back with his techno-thriller. Think Larry Cohen’s screenplay for Phonebooth, but Radivojević’s sniper is literally omnipotent. Thematically and spiritually, Karmadonna feels very much in the vein of a Cohen, Henenlotter, or Verhoeven picture. Social Satire dialed up to 1000.
Radivojević is best known for his screenplay of the immediately infamous euro-horror film, A Serbian Film.
One of the most divisive, underground gems of the 21st Century. A film I’ve only seen once – after putting it off for 10 years – but I loved it, and I recommend it often. It is disconcerting, but with a cause. It’s Punk propaganda taking shots at censorship. In my opinion, that’s the core purpose of all good exploitation films. Karmadonna is also grotesque – perhaps not as disturbing as ASF – but this time, the messaging is front and centre, and as such, it removes the potential for a more mean-spirited film.
My pitch for Karmadonna: Imagine if John Wick were pregnant, god-fearing, and hated society.
After an infomercial for anti-smoking, we find our protagonist, and mother-to-be, Jelena, sitting on a park bench in utter serenity. She is played with fiery dynamism by Jelena Ðokić. Amongst the bliss of this sunny day, she receives a call from an unknown number. It is the “creator of all content,” voiced by Sergej Trifunović, who delivers an excellent, cool, calm, and collected portrayal of a psychopath.
The synergy between Ðokić and Trifunović is so palpable, it could punch you through the screen.
The voice blackmails her into taking out a long list of ‘bad people’, and in return, he will not kill her unborn child. Unlike other phone call hostage films, Jelena doesn’t fight the premise for an hour; she embraces it almost immediately, creating an engaging femme fatale.
We soon learn that this “voice of God” is actually God itself. They refer to themselves as Buddha. Serbia is most religiously aligned with Orthodox Christianity, so I believe using an Eastern deity is for ironic purposes, as what is on display here is anything but ‘spiritual’.
And hey, if I were God, I’d be pissed off too.
After a little healthy pushback, Jelena dives into the Serbian underworld with her phone-god in hand, and the rest of the film plays out like a demented ‘Buddy Cop’ film.
Jelena fights her way physically and psychologically, climbing the ranks of heinous villainy until she gets to the top, or bottom (of the barrel). A homophobic and sexist Cab driver (Jovo Maksić); an untoward and cocksure Influencer (Peter Strugar); a violent Mobster (Milutin Mima Karadžić), and the bloodthirsty Danica (Milica Stefanović).
The supporting characters would have you think this was a ‘Hagsploitation’ film, the way they discredit Jelena’s “old” age at every turn. To the ever-present iPhone generation, she has lost her social currency as a woman. At the centre of the antics are internet prophet Bane (Miloš Lolić) and Kronjac (Miloš Timotijević), the ruling powers over a whole clique of dangerously ill civilians.
Jakonić’s cinematography is truly entrancing. The agility of the camera operation and the finesse of editor Branimir Živković , Karmadonna feels about as frenetic as you can get. When I say the camera never stops bobbing and weaving, I mean it. It keeps every scene, even the more mundane ones, moving along with urgency. At times I felt like I was playing a first-person shooter. There’s plenty of POV snorricam and Sam Raimi-esque floating ghost camera to put you right inside the action. Costume design by Kristina Kostić is bang-on perfect. It feels authentic, yet heightened for the genre. Her take on suave espionage wear is iconic and fashion-forward.
My one major critique would be the runtime. If this were 20 minutes shorter, I would have felt hooked in and never let go, which I think some viewers will feel was a dire necessity. Ultimately, Karmadonna is examining the balance between the complexities of the immortal God (religion) and the very mortal condition of the God complex. It is a film fed up with the state of affairs, and Radivojević serves up his anger under a cloche of ‘fuck you’.
Karmadonna is a hell in a handbasket assault of the senses. In its purest form, it’s a feel-bad watch, but the storytelling is so hyperactive that it is far more fun than it should be.
KARMADONNA will have its Australian debut at Sydney’s Randwick Ritz as part of the Dark Nights Film Festival. One screening only- Saturday, October 11th, at 7:15 pm. Purchase tickets here.
DNFF runs from October 9th to 12th. Check out the Complete Program here.
“My pitch for Karmadonna: Imagine if John Wick were pregnant, god-fearing, and hated society.”
