''Josephine'' is a 2001 English-language

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n film directed by

Rajko Grlić Rajko Grlić (born 2 September 1947) is a Croatian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of film theory at Ohio University and artistic director of the Motovun Film Festival in Motovun, Croatia. Biography Rajko Grlić w ...

. It was shown at several international film festivals in 2001, but was never released to theatres as the production company filed for bankruptcy during the film's post-production.

Plot

Jan (Miroslav Vladyka) is a poor but knowledgeable

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

cheesemaker. In 1991, the borders of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

are opened, and Jan goes west to fulfill his father's dream – meet and sleep with a girl who resembles

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

. He arrives in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, where he ends up forced to live in a brothel owned by formed actor Spike (

Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is best known for portraying Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'', from 2009 to 2011, and in its prequel series ''Better Ca ...

), and falls in love with

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

dancer Al (

Maria Schrader Maria Schrader (born 27 September 1965) is a German actress, screenwriter, and director. She directed the award-winning 2007 film ''Love Life'' and the 2020 Netflix miniseries '' Unorthodox'', for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for O ...

Cast

* as Jan *

as Al *

as Spike * Tery Ferman as Josephine *

Marina Anna Eich Marina Anna Eich (born 17 December 1976) is a German film actress and producer. Life and career Eich was born in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany. After school she studied Spanish, English, and French in Ecuador, Canada, and France respecti ...

as dancer * Shahina Williams as Pep * Andrea Bozó as Ninel

Release

Indigo, the film's German production company, went bankrupt during post-production; hence, ''Josephine'' was never shown in theatres. The only screening of the film in Croatia was at the 2002

Motovun Film Festival The Motovun Film Festival is an annual film festival established in 1999 and held in the small town of Motovun, Croatia. It usually takes place over five or six days in late July or early August. Overview Motovun Film Festival is entirely dedic ...

, to a lukewarm reception from the critics. According to Grlić, another German film company managed to acquire the rights to distribute the film in 2010. In the interim, he states, the film was shown (in breach of copyright laws) on many film festivals throughout the world.

References

External links

*
''Josephine''
at hrfilm.hr 2001 films English-language Croatian films Films directed by Rajko Grlić Films set in 1991 Unreleased films Films set in Hamburg 2000s English-language films {{Croatia-film-stub