In The Jaws Of Life

U raljama života (1985)

Director: Rajko Grlić
Screenplay: Rajko Grlić, Dubravka Ugrešić (Based on the novel by Dubravka Ugrešić)
Cinematographer: Tomislav Pinter
Music: Brane Živković
Editor: Živka Toplak
Production designer: Stanko Dobrina
Costume: Maja Galasso
Cast: Vitomira Lončar, Gorica Popović, Bogdan Diklić, Semka Sokolović Bertok, Mira Furlan, Rade Šerbedžija, Miki Manojlović, Bata Živojinović
Producer: Alexander Stojanović
Produced by: Art Film, Beograd, Jadran Film and Croatia Film, Zagreb, 1984
35mm - color - 95 min.

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"A middle-aged woman filmmaker, a bit on the chubby side, with a rather confused personal life, is making a soap opera titled The Jaws of Life. It follows a young clerk, a bit on the chubby side, with a rather confused personal life. The two stories unfold side by side as the film goes on, and this sexy farce makes the most of the parallels between them. Despite the differences in the two women’s social milieus, their stories in fact begin to converge, and each seems to comment on and affect the other in an amusing mixture of life and art. The various men who pass through our two heroine’s lives make for a series of amusing, sometimes poignant situations. What makes this sparkling yet bittersweet film so satisfying is the loose comic flow of the narrative, and the overall philosophical perspective that flows from its creative premise." - Ellen Slatkin, Denver International Film Festival

In The Jaws of Life won the critics award for the "Best Yugoslav Film 1984". It also won "Golden Arenas" for director and composer; the audience award "Jelen" and four other acting awards at the Pula Film Festival; and the "Bronze Palm" at the Valencia Film Festival, Spain. It was first in the Yugoslav Box Office in 1985.

The Village Voice, New York, chose this film as "The Best Film of the Week" in March 1987, and The Washington City Paper selected it as "one of the best of the year." The film was distributed worldwide. 

Critical Response 

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