Eat Sleep Die
Starring: Nermina Lukac Milan Dragisic, Jonathan Lampinen, Peter Fält
Director: Gabriela Pichler
Rating: 3.5/5
Eat Sleep Die feature in the First Feature Competition category at the BFI London Film Festival as director Gabriela Pitchler makes the transition into shorts for the very first time.
The movie follows Rasa Abdulahovic a twenty one year old who works in a salad packing plant to support her and her father.
But her life is turned upside down when she is made redundant from the job that she loves and she is forced to re-evaluate her life and make some tough decisions about her future.
There is an incredibly realistic feel to the way that this movie has been shot and it almost has a documentary element to it.
The characters feel like real people and there seem to be genuine relationships between them all - and that works in the movie’s favour.
This is a movie about tough economic times and how people of all ages struggle to find work as well as support when they are out of work or cannot work.
It is a fantastic performance from the inexperienced Nermina Lukac as she takes on the central role of Rasa - but you would not know that she is not an experienced hand in front of the camera as her performance is just so natural.
There is a warmth and a charm to her performance as well as a toughness because of what she has to cope with in her life and the responsibility that she faces to provide for her family.
Sure there is bleakness to this movie but director Gabriela Pichler doesn’t allow the story to wallow in this and she has made this a movie about moving forward and fighting to survive.
Pichler has delivered a movie that is both a character and social study that doesn’t sensationalise the story or drown it in sentimentality.
Eat Sleep Die closes on a note of hope that there is a bright future ahead for Rasa if she is willing to take that step into the unknown.
This is a very accomplished feature for a first time filmmaker as Pichler delivers a great story and gets the best out of her cast.
The BFI London Film Festival runs 10 - 21 October
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw