''Go, Yellow'' ( hr, Ajmo žuti!) is a 2001

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 football comedy-drama film directed by

Dražen Žarković Dražen is a Serbo-Croatian masculine given name, derived from Slavic root '' drag'' ("dear, beloved"). Notable people with the name include: * Dražen Besek (born 1963), Croatian football player and manager * Dražen Biškup (born 1965), Croati ...

. It was Žarković's debut feature film, after having directed several award-winning documentary and short films. He set out to create an unpretentious, easy-to-watch film that would be popular with the cinemagoers, but it was ultimately poorly received at the Croatian box office and was met with mixed reviews from the critics.

Plot

Ivek ( Slavko Brankov) and Kruno (

Žarko Potočnjak Žarko Potočnjak (3 February 1946 – 21 October 2021) was a Croatian theatre, television and film actor. Potočnjak graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Art in 1972. Upon graduation he was hired as a regular member at the ''Komedija ...

) are best friends, both passionate supporters of a suburban

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

football club. When a ''

nouveau riche ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ...

'' businessman Čabraja (

Goran Grgić Goran Grgić (born 17 November 1965) is a Croatian theatre, television and film actor. Grgić graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Art in 1990. Upon graduation he was hired as a regular cast member at the '' Gavella'' theatre in Zagre ...

) enters the club's managing board with ambitious plans, and soon becomes the club's president, the two friends are divided. While Kruno is enthusiastic over the club's newly found success, Ivek is distrustful towards Čabraja and does not approve of his shady methods. Their friendship becomes increasingly strained...

Production

''Go, Yellow'' was originally intended as a two-part TV feature. It was shot on standard

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It is ...

and later transferred to 35 mm film in order to be shown at film festivals. The screenplay, written by Pavo Marinković, was based on an idea by the two leading actors, Slavko Brankov and

. The filming started on 6 June 2000 and was scheduled to last until 20 July. Football scenes were shot in the stadium of

NK Rudeš Nogometni Klub Rudeš ( en, Football Club Rudeš), commonly referred to as NK Rudeš or simply Rudeš, is a Croatian football club founded in 1957 in Zagreb's neighbourhood of Rudeš. The club competes in Croatia's second division. History Be ...

, a local Zagreb football club. There are no

wide shot In photography, filmmaking and video production, a wide shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or long shot) is a shot that typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surro ...

s of the stadium in the film, as the budget did not allow that many

background actor A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera, or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street ...

s. Instead, multiple shots were used with the same group of extras appearing as crowd in the different parts of the stadium.

Reception

The reactions to ''Go, Yellow'' were varied. At the extreme ends of the scale, ''

Vjesnik ''Vjesnik'' () was a Croatian state-owned daily newspaper published in Zagreb which ceased publication in April 2012. Originally established in 1940 as a wartime illegal publication of the Communist Party of Croatia, it later built and maintained ...

s columnist Branko Vukšić likened the film to '' My Sweet Little Village'', while Ivan Starčević, a TV critic writing for '' Nacional'', called it "hopelessly bad". Croatian writer, columnist and film critic

Jurica Pavičić Jurica Pavičić (born 2 November 1965 in Split) is a Croatian writer, columnist and film critic. Pavičić's screenplay for '' Witnesses'' (''Svjedoci''), Vinko Brešan's 2003 film, won the Golden Arena for Best Screenplay in the 2003 Pula Film ...

gave the film a moderately favorable review. He described it as "easy to watch" and "exceptionally entertaining at times", while being "lightly and stylishly directed". In particular, Pavičić praised the acting and football cinematography. However, he also described the film as "dramaturgically unbalanced", suffering from a "simplified story about the Croatian new capitalism". ''Go, Yellow'' competed as one of six films screened at the 48th

Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival ( hr, Pulski filmski festival) is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held ...

in 2001, but it did not win any awards, and ranked last in the viewers' choice poll. The film was not successful at the Croatian box office either, having sold 2,414 tickets in total.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0300919 2001 films Association football films 2000s Croatian-language films Films shot in Croatia Films set in Zagreb Croatian comedy-drama films 2001 directorial debut films