Without

After losing his dog, Aleksandar, an eccentric artist from Belgrade, embarks on a journey to look for his pet. Throughout his search, we will get to know a number of strange characters. The filmmaker’s humorous approach opens up dialogue about different philosophical questions related to art, representation, identity, nature, history, ethics and politics. Aleksandar has a particular, somewhat absent way of being in the world, without any major concerns other than the search for his dog, accompanied by a series of friends who, to a certain extent, resemble him. His eccentricity is portrayed by absence; not so much that of the lost dog, but rather that of a family, of a stable job, of politically correct social rules. In that universe, the protagonist understands that plastic can be as good or bad for nature as nature itself, he can throw a beer can on the sidewalk without any guilt, or imagine that if his tiny dog returns, he could participate in a deer hunt. The landscape of marginalised urban areas is integrated with this kind of discourse, which is also somehow displaced, a little removed from the self-righteous thinking of the “enlightened” middle classes. Papić knows exactly how to accompany his character, with good visual ideas and without judgment, without forcing him either. We place our trust in Aleksandar, an artist who makes us question certain paradigms which we might otherwise have taken for granted. 

Violeta Bava