''Vegetarian Cannibal'' ( hr, Ljudožder vegetarijanac) is a 2012 Croatian drama film directed by Branko Schmidt. It was released on 1 March 2012 and stars

Rene Bitorajac Rene Bitorajac (; born 2 March 1972) is a Croatian actor. He has appeared in a number of Croatian and Bosnian films since the 1980s. Most notably, he starred in the 2001 Academy Award-winning Bosnian film ''No Man's Land''. He is also known for st ...

as an immoral doctor.

Plot

Danko Babić (

) is highly successful and much sought after as a doctor of

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...

, but at the same time he is also incredibly ambitious and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. These traits eventually lead him to Jedinko ( Emir Hadžihafizbegović), a pimp who specializes in high-end prostitution and drug dealing. He's willing to pay Danko a considerable sum to perform abortions on his prostitutes, who get pregnant on a regular basis. Danko quickly gets pulled into a world of organized crime, corruption, and scandal.

Cast

as Danko Babić * Nataša Janjić as Nurse Lana * Leon Lučev as Ilija * Emir Hadžihafizbegović as Jedinko * Zrinka Cvitešić as Dr. Lovrić *

Daria Lorenci Daria Lorenci Flatz (; born 13 April 1976) is a Bosnian and Croatian television and film actress. She appeared in more than twenty feature films since 2000. She lives and works in Zagreb. Personal life Daria Saltagić was born in Sarajevo to a ...

as Dr. Miller * Ksenija Pajić as Dr. Domljan * Ozren Grabarić as Mario Filipović * Mustafa Nadarević as Pathologist Marelja * Robert Ugrina as Dr. Soldo * Krešimir Mikić as Dr. Bantić * Rakan Rushaidat as Hassan Al Sadat * Ljubomir Kerekeš as Professor Matić *

Zdenko Jelčić Zdenko Jelčić (born 8 August 1946) is a Croatian actor. He has appeared in more than fifty films since 1972. Selected filmography References External links * 1946 births Living people Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina People fro ...

as Colonel *Slaven Knezović as Smoljo * Ksenija Marinković as Patient Švarc

Production

The film was based on the eponymous novel by Ivo Balenović, also known by the pen name "Alen Bović".

Reception

'' Film School Rejects'' was mixed in their review, praising Bitorajac's acting while commenting that the film's ending "will easily divide the audience". The ''

Austinist Gothamist LLC is the operator, or in some cases franchisor, of eight city-centric websites that focused on news, events, food, culture, and other local coverage. It was founded in 2003 by Jake Dobkin and Jen Chung. In March 2017, Joe Ricketts, ...

'' was more positive, stating "Yes, this movie is kind of a downer, but adventurous filmgoers will probably find Vegetarian Cannibal to be worth their time" The film was selected as the Croatian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist. Lead actor Bitorajac states that he views the character of Danko as the "most despicable character he has ever played" and that while he was initially leery of the script, he was satisfied after seeing the completed product.

Awards

* Golden Arena for Best Actor (

) at the Pula Film Festival (2012, won) * Golden Arena for Best Director at the Pula Film Festival (2012, won) * Golden Arena for Best Cinematography at the Pula Film Festival (2012, won) *Best Art Direction at the Pula Film Festival (2012, won) *Best Achievement in Make-Up at the Pula Film Festival (2012, won) *Kodak Award at the Pula Film Festival (2012, won)

References

External links

* {{Croatian submission for Academy Awards 2012 films 2012 drama films Croatian drama films 2010s Croatian-language films Films directed by Branko Schmidt Films based on Croatian novels Films about physicians