I don’t know for sure that Goran Stolevski has seen any Hirokazu Koreeda movies. However, the Macedonian/Australian’s eyes and ears for human stories on the fringes puts him in excellent company. Housekeeping for Beginners isn’t quite at Shoplifters Koreeda heights, but it’s definitely in Broker range for sure, giving me hope that we’re getting in range of Stolevski making a bonafide masterpiece sooner rather than later.
In Skopje, Macedonia’s capital, lives a couple, Dita (Anamaria Marinca) and Toni (Vladimir Tintor), under the radar trying to make ends meet. At least that’s what they want the world to think. In actuality, Dita’s with a Roma woman Suada (Alina Serban), who has 2 kids Vanessa (Mia Mustafi) and Mia (Dzada Selim). And Toni lets his latest Grindr one night stand Ali (Samson Selim) crash with them alongside other older lesbians Elena (Sara Klimoska) in an under the radar makeshift family.
Stolevski is a competent director, but he shines best as a writer. Here his script sets the stage in the first 20 minutes, dropping us into “family” dinner. The script bounces back and forth between the wonderful cast of characters, setting up who they are to the audience as well as establishing the movie experience we’re in for: character drama that’s wonderfully humanly funny from time to time. Never once does Stolevski call out the importance of the characters he’s showcasing: he just lets them be themselves in all their messiness where their sexual orientations are only a part of who they are. Interactions with the larger Macedonian society come with added drama because of those identities, and for the most part, Stolevski trusts the natural tension in those moments carry the scenes over forcing some fraught situation, letting characters dictate the plot moreso than the other way around. His immersive script is more like a teleporter, transporting us into this specific Skopje apartment with these fascinating, complex people.
And that cast runs with Goran Stolevski’s excellent script and direction. Anamaria Marinca has been the go to actress to display “Eastern European perseverance and despondence in equal measure” for 17 years, 4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days now. She anchors this movie, using that heavy, stoic face to push through her lowest of lows and get out the other side from her duty to the people she loves. Vlad Tintor is a nice match for her, the male version of what Marinca is. Generationally, Samson Selim and Mia Mustafi go the opposite route, barely containing their feelings and living their truths always and forever, not always for the best. Mustafi plays barely suppressed rage well, choosing to dial it up when Dita or Suada pushes her buttons. Selim is a standout for me, giving the movie a necessary dose of happiness and positive energy during the dark times. Even like 8th billed Sara Klimoska gets a killer monologue during a key sequence later in the movie. Juicy scripts like Housekeeping for Beginners don’t come very often, and each of these talented actors rise to the occasion to deliver great performances to sell the hell out of this film.
I have lived very close to Chicago’s Boys Town, an LGBTQIA neighborhood. What Goran Stolevski captures here with chosen families is something I have seen steadily in my decade around here. The movie is a loving reminder that no matter what the world and society might think about you, what you think about matters most, as well as whom you choose to love. And there’s always hope, only 10-15 years ago my city sounded like Skopje, and things are much better know; so put on your best Anamaria Marinca face, plow ahead, and find your people until that day comes.