A Trip (Izlet) Directed by Nejc Gazvoda, Slovenia

During their trip to the seaside they bring each other up to date with the changes that have occurred in their lives ‘the hard way’. The film is in no way perfect, but Gazvoda achieves a genuine portrayal of his generation in a way that is accessible for a wide range of viewers. According to the director, the story of Ziva (a moody daddy’s girl), Gregor (now a soldier fighting alongside American troops in Afghanistan) and Andrej (a sarcastic, gay physics drop-out) was developed from a short novel Nejc Gazvoda wrote at 19. The characters were originally the same age (and only two, with Gregor missing) but as he got around to turning it into a film, he got more mature and projected that on his characters as well. But this is exactly what the trio is trying to avoid: this trip is meant re-create the good old days, when having fun was their only concern. The more they try to convince themselves that nothing has changed, the more their interactions reveal the opposite. The feeling of authenticity the film provides is greatly based on the actors, particularly in the way they deliver the dialogues. While 90% of the dialogues were included in the script, Nejc Gazvoda emphasized the importance of his work with the actors, whereby new ideas were adopted to develop the characters in a way that the talented young performers could relate to. These resulting authentic and strong performances cover comedy and drama, and even a bit of madness.

With “A Trip”, the Slovenian director was set for a character-driven drama that would show the problems of his generation. Nevertheless, he achieved not only a compelling portrayal of young adults in Slovenia, but also managed to catch something that crosses state borders. It is the limbo state, when you still think of yourself as a child, while age and the situations you’re facing place you in adult-hood and everybody around expects you to act accordingly. It complicates friendships, relationships and it can deepen the feeling of “no direction” in a country where you can have a “list of things I hate” as long as Andrej’s. By Mirona Nicola