It would be an understatement to say that Croatian film industry in 1990s left much to be desired. There were, however, attempts to change that sorry state of affairs. Few were as radical as the one made by Split entrepreneur Vicenco Blagaić. In 1999 he produced The Last Will, action comedy directed by Zoran Sudar, which is considered to be the first modern Croatian film completely financed through private means instead of being subsidised by state.
Protagonist, played by Goran Višnjić, is Bepo Štambuk, tourist guide in picturesque Dalmatian coastal town who has, thanks to his good looks, built reputation for successfully seducing foreign female tourists. When American attorney Elizabeth (played by Alison Heruth-Waterbury) arrives to town, he learns that his rich relative in USA has died and left him all of his inheritance. His widow Nicole (played by Angelica Bridges) has been, due to her infidelity, left out of the will, so she hires team of hitmen to take Bepo out in order for her to get all the money for herself. The problem is that there are three people with the same name in town, so this leads to all kinds of complications.
Blagaić offered something new and fresh from Croatian cinema. Unlike almost any 1990s Croatian film, which was either dour nationalist propaganda or pretentious and boring art drama aimed at snobbish festival crowds, The Last Will was made with private money and clear intention to earn that money back by providing ordinary audiences what they want. So, the film included or, at least, tried to include things like comedy, action, beautiful location and beautiful women. Blagaić also recognised tourism as the backbone of Croatian economy and also tried to use this film to promote it. He gathered a lot of talent before and in front of camera, at least if Croatian cinema industry is concerned. Script was written by Ivica Ivanišević and Ante Tomić, the latter being one of country’s most popular writers. Višnjić, then enjoying popularity due to his appearance in ER, was joined by solid cast made of respected and experienced Croatian character actors. Choice of non-Croatian cast, however, left something to be desired. Angelica Bridges, known mostly for appearing in Baywatch, despite being the main villain, serves as eye candy and nothing more. Višnjić, on the other hand, completely lacks chemistry with Heruth. Surprisingly, Stefan Lysenko as one of the assassins make much better impression.
The Last Will was heavily promoted, but this promotion backfired when financial woes, dispute between producers and lawsuits brought negative publicity and postponed the actual release of film until 2001. When the audience finally saw the film, it was somewhat underwhelmed, despite director Zoran Sudar providing adequate job, except in few clumsily made action scenes that make this film cheaper than it actually is. Despite its commercial failure, The Last Will is nevertheless an entertaining piece of cinema that deserves recommendation.
(Note: Alison Heruth, an actress appearing in the film, was in 2006 arrested and sentenced over scam involving tens of millions dollars during fictional production of TV series dedicated to Department of Home Security.)
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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