Beyond Dreams

Following a jail sentence, Mirjana has to find her place in the outside world anew. She finds work as chambermaid in a hotel, but her everyday life becomes a double existence. It seems that she is torn between looking after her sick mother and her younger sister, and spending her time with a group of girlfriends, who are more “family” to her than the biological ones. This film about the difficulty of finding one’s identity is full of worldly wisdom and begins with a fast and warmheartedly noisy scene as the girlfriends and Mirjana’s little sister pick her up from jail. The exuberant gang of girls lives on the outskirts of Stockholm in a suburb of high-rises and is exuberantly happy about Mirjana’s return. She, in turn, seems genuinely moved by their reaction. With the appearance of the ailing mother, the film quickly changes its tone. The atmosphere becomes oppressive and almost non-verbally quiet. “You are now no longer a child, and I will not treat you as one again”, the mother tells Mirjana, who leans back with a sigh, carefully observed by her little sister Isa. (Internationales Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg)