Guardian of the Frontier (Varuh meje)

BELA FILM PRESENTS

A FILM BY MAJA WEISS

GUARDIAN OF THE FRONTIER

Sometimes I don't understand you, AIja.

What's there to understand? My room-mate and my best

friend are coming to visit and we're going fIoating

down the river. Got a probIem with that?

Of course not!

We're aIways together anyway. -What do you mean, always?

Like we're married. -What d'you mean, married?

AIja, you're aIways in LjubIjana!

Give me a IittIe independence! Fuck it!

Hi, Zana! Where are you?

Christ, Simona, what've you got in here?

You never know what we might need.

We're just fIoating down the KoIpa, not the Amazon.

Need any heIp? -Thank you so much!

Thank you so much!

Hi, Zana! -AIja! -The nose ring! Did it hurt? -hm.

Where is Simona? -Where d'you think?

Thank you, really thank you. Oh, AIja! -Hi!

So, this is Medo? -Medo. -Medo. -Medo.

So, shall we baptise your friends, AIja?

How will you baptise us? -You'll see.

Fuck, I had a boyfriend once who wanted to marry me.

Did you?

Are you crazy? I dumped him.

And now you're aIone?

Yeah, Iike on desert isIand.

Hey, I'll take your wedding photos, aIright?

Ahm. Wait.

To the everlasting Iove! -Cheers.

That's Croatia over there on the other side?

That's what they say. -We couId swim across.

It's not allowed. Not here, anyway.-Ever try it?

That's why I didn't. Who cares anyway.

It's stupid, though. Before we were in the same country.

I used to go fishing with the guys over there,

and now ... fuck it.

Scared?

Hello!

It's not Iike in LjubIjana. -Who cares!

Want to dance?

Not your kind of music, ey? -What?

AIja, wake up!

It's eight o'cIock. You asked me to wake you.

Eh, girIs, girIs.

Fuck.

Morning!

What?

Just don't taIk, OK? -Fine.

Sorry.

Good morning.

Morning! -Morning.

One... two... three...

One... two...

Come on, dad, cut it out.

Anyone who goes fIoating down the river

shouIdn't be out at disco till three in the morning the night before.

Oh! But I forgot! You're students, aren't you?

And what do students do?

Not study, certainIy.

It's the summer hoIiday, dad!

And when it's not? What do you study?

God, you're nosy!

Economics.

Economics. Really? No kidding?

Yes.

Realistic girl... See, I like that.

And languages, too...

Here we go again.

Languages... And you? Economics, too...

..and languages?

No. Journalism.

And you? I can't remember.

You think he's joking, but he really doesn't know what

I've been doing in Ljubljana for three years.

What was it? Law? Medicine?

Mama, do you remember?

Yes, literature!

That's it! You want to write novels.

Leave her alone. What should she go to law school if

she's not interested. -Exactly.

You can always go to law school and write novels.

Listen to this. A girl's been reported missing.

A student... Went out with friends and never came back.

So? -She probably ran away to Ljubljana and is having a

great time. -Maybe. But the police found one of her

shoes by the river.

Maybe this canoe trip isn't such a good idea.

Dad, come on. -Don't be silly!

Alja!

Medo.

And this are for Alja's friends. -Oh, thanks.

Thanks.

You made these by yourself? -Ahm.

Anyway.. I wont let myself to be distract by anything.

Thank you for giving us a lift, Medo.

Medo?!

Zana, can you help me?

You'll sink the boat with all that.

Where am I suppose to put the rucksack?

Where?! On the roof by the canoes! God!

Come on, let's get a picture!

Medo!

Come on, Medo, put your arms around Alja!

Come on!

Cheese!

Full speed ahead!

Full speed!

This is good, this is good!

I wouldn't mind going with you.

Just make sure you don't.

Alja? Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to take Medo

with us... Everything's so... wild.

Yeah, you might run into the big bad wolf!

Simona, Medo is too young to be your daddy.

Hi... What's up? Yes, what is it?

What's going on?

Maybe they found the foot that fits the shoe.

Don't joke about it, Alja.

Hey, there's the killer there. An you know what he did...?

He took her out in the woods, raped her, cut her up

and used her as bait for the fishes.

Oh, come on, Zana!

Fuck, it really is beautiful.

The river, trees...

God's own country.

Look!

Let's go!

What? -What, what? -Don't you want to?

What about the others? -What about them?

They haven't got boyfriends. -Well, if they ask me nicely...

Stop it, Medo!

Come on, let's have a quickie.

Don't be so crude!

Those two are going to think that we did it, anyway...!

Don't want to? Fine! OK!

You know, I'd have a feeling I was just fucked and

nothing else, just fucked, get it!?

Now who's being crude?

For christsakes, I'm not insisting! Am I?

I tried, you turned me down, case closed!

There's nothing more pitiful than a wounded male.

Fuck you!

You wish!

Just what we need, a man!

Keep it evenly distributed or else you'll tip over.

Hang your food in the trees at night or else you'll

attract bears and wolves and serial killers.

So glad to be of use to you girls.

Don't fuck my canoes. Bye!

And?

He couldn't get it up.

Rolling on the Kolpa...

Watch out for the beast!

And serial killers!

And hunters!

And females!

Fuck, this is the best! No parents, no teachers.

No boyfriends.

No one to tell us what to do.

I'm surprised you two haven't undressed yet.

What do you mean? -Good idea!

Not bad.

Come on, Simona, pull your top off!

No thank you.

Are you embarrassed?

I'm not embarrassed.

Who's going to see you, besides us?

You really don't need that much support.

I don't want to get burnt.

I don't want to get burnt.

So is that Croatia over there? -Croatia, yes.

Fuck! A country of killers and perverts!

Stop it, Zana!

Really! The woods are full of them. Those fucked up

Croatian war veterans who just can't stop killing.

Who else d'you think could have killed that missing girl?

No one told them that the war is over. They're

wandering around, lost and lonely and scared...

Now that they've raped all their own women,

they're coming for us!

With a knife in one hand and a hard-on in the other!

That's not funny!

Who's laughing?

Come on! It's only hunters!

Look, fireflies. -Where?

See?

D'you know, I haven't seen fireflies since I was a kid.

They're really beautiful, aren't they?

Those aren't fireflies, they're fairies. -Sure!

Really! Don't you know the story?

It's good luck if you see them.

At midsummer, they come down to the river to drink

and if they see a virgin, they cast a spell on her and

take her away to marry the King of the Forest.

Simona, better not let them see you, then.

I'm not a virgin!

But maybe I'd Iike to be in a way.