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Why "Rest in Peace" is one of the most interesting products of European television

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Just take the scene from the ninth episode in which Kosta Mandić outsmarts Igla, sits on his dream motorcycle, flies on it from a study full of dusty files, breaks through the balcony, and performs one of the most spectacular suicides in the history of film and television.

The third season of the series "Rest in Peace" is certainly the bravest drama product we have had the opportunity to see on our small screens. If you are a less attentive viewer, who consumes several contents at once, you better not get into it. Some episodes mix the past and the present without any special announcement. Only after a while, you realize that you are in the nineties or the beginning of the millennium and only good memory of the actors' faces will help you cope with that unusual mosaic. If you've watched the series, you know that the main plot focuses on the murders of members of Zagreb's golden youth. Their fathers - all of them Croatian pillars of society - did not do what was required of them and the punishment came in the form of the liquidation of the dearest and most loved.

General Koretić (Dejan Aćimović), who entered the bottled water business after the Homeland War, the seemingly untouchable banker Bučević (Žarko Savić) prone to S/M sessions, the media tycoon Bedrica (Sreten Mokrović), who gladly receives services but is reluctant to return them equally, the judge of the Supreme Court Stančec (Damir Šaban) with a great character flaw - cowardice, and the Minister of War Urem (Dušan Gojić) who paid for his disobedience with the death of one of his daughters. The so-called Network is asking everyone for a special fee, their lawyer Halužan (Dražen Čuček) kindly threatens, but God forbid that the Network, instead of the lawyer, sends to disobedient the criminal Igla (Velibor Topić) or Žarko Paspa (Marinko Prga), a former UDBA agent, who is more dangerous after Croatia's independence than ever.

Lucija Car (Judita Franković), once a journalist and now an archivist on television, is involved in all this, leading investigations on her account, and probably God wouldn't know what she found out if she wasn't protected and informed by Paspa's archenemy Mate Šušnjara (Dragan Despot), his informant Kosta Mandić (Danko Ljuština) and lame boxer Miki (Slavko Štimac). The forces of the conflicting parties are not in balance, especially not in the end when it seems that the Network will definitely take the lead, but already in the middle of the tenth, the last episode, which was broadcast yesterday, the arrests of the corrupt begin.

But it may not turn out that way - the members of the Network were not demonstratively disabled or called out, there are many indications that the battle continues, Lucia's murder was even ordered, but as the creators of the series claim, there will be no fourth season, so draw your own conclusions about what will happen next. After all, if you follow through the media what is happening in Croatia today, do not have too many illusions, even though the younger generation politician Ana Srnec (Dijana Vidušić) believes that society can change for the better, and there are even younger activists of the movement "Enough!", who in the end have no idea that their protests saved Lucia's life. We were not spared lectures on why what happened in Croatia, how a new class was created, and how the unpleasant aspects of the transition may have been necessary, but I guess it is because the series was funded and broadcast by Croatian Television.

The third season will be remembered primarily for the excellent production that we have not seen on domestic screens for a long time. Just take the scene from the ninth episode in which Kosta Mandić outsmarts Igla, sits on his dream motorcycle, flies on it from a study full of dusty files, breaks through the balcony, and performs one of the most spectacular suicides in the history of film and television. In the tenth episode, Igla challenges Mate in a real straight ring, he is overpowered and armed, but he wants to prove that he is better in fist fighting as well. We’ve already seen something like this in martial arts movies, but here it’s done with style and extremely compelling. There is everything in that episode, a police helicopter is in action, while Žarko Paspa and Mate Šušnjara are fighting in a mine-laden forest.

The series is excellently directed (Goran Rukavina) and filmed (Darko Drinovac), the special effects are world-class, but what makes them stand out is the acting performances. Judita Franković found new nuances in the character of Lucija Car, she is now a mature woman and no longer an ambitious investigator who doesn't even know what she's getting into, while Dragan Despot is the dramatic backbone of the series: in the first season he seemed like a pure villain, in the second he began to show some more layered traits, while in the third he grew into a combination of a full-blooded action hero and a character actor. The enumeration of the best acting performances could take time - the interplay between Dejan Aćimović and Mladen Vulić is especially effective, as is the episode of Inga Appelt.

You don't have to like everything, for example, the character of Igla, played by the great Velibor Topic, is announced from the very beginning, you expect him to dominate in the final, and you are a bit disappointed when he is liquidated ahead of time, and replaced in the role of inevitable villain by Marinko Prga. It was possible to craft the story without flashbacks in which Lucija's late father (Darko Milas) and her partner from the first season Martin Strugar (Miodrag Krivokapić) appear, but it was probably poetic for the screenwriters, and to some extent, that connected the whole trilogy. Of course, this is not the strongest side of the series, its main trump card is the special connection between drama and action, as well as unconventional solutions, according to which "Rest in Peace" ranks among the most interesting products of European television, in a selected circle in which are Romanian "Shadows" and some of the Scandinavian and British products. That's a huge achievement and it should be constantly emphasized.

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How "Rest in Peace" reminded me of Kišević

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Indeed, we do not know who A Hero of Our Time is. We don't even know who is watching Lucija from the car. The duel between Lucija and Pečorin was interrupted by the budding youth. Their message "Enough!" is a message to both viewers and potential assassin. Each of us, viewers, must decide what will happen next. Ambitious and unprecedented in the Croatian series. Viewers are trusted so much to be left with such an important decision? We can approve it or not, but the decision is brave anyway.

It is somehow appropriate that "Rest in Peace" on HRT ended just before the spring equinox. Winter is leaving, "Rest in Peace" is also leaving. Lucija Car, a journalist who likes to stick her nose where it doesn't belong, has reached the end of the road and has to grow up. Because, whether I want to admit it or not, many times in these three seasons Lucija was a child, even a brat, who plunged into unknown dangers. It is so imagined, it is so written, it has crept under our skin. The moment in which she symbolically grows up is the moment in which she reconciles with herself. Mate Šušnjara is gone, the baby is on way, and she will find a new job with her family. This is where the circle closes. We could say that she ran away from her family for three seasons, just to come back to them in the end. The circle and the end, however, are associated with Enes Kišević. "The point outside the circle is mocking." Indeed, we do not know who A Hero of Our Time is. We don't even know who is watching Lucija from the car. The duel between Lucija and Pečorin was interrupted by the budding youth. Their message "Enough!" is a message to both viewers and potential assassin. Each of us, viewers, must decide what will happen next. Ambitious and unprecedented in the Croatian series. Viewers are trusted so much to be left with such an important decision? We can approve it or not, but the decision is brave anyway.

The third season told a deeper story than the previous two. The killings of the "golden youth" are taking place under the radar of the media and the police. The link between corruption, crime, and politics is visible at every step. Young politicians are instructed by the old ones, army generals must learn the modern way of warfare, and bankers do not have the same rules for everyone. If it seems familiar to you, you are not wrong. The line between fiction and reality was nowhere as blurry as this season. Judita Franković as Lucija plays her role quite well. Although there are moments that seem forced (talking to a psychiatrist, talking to the sister of one of the victims), the character of Lucija Car enters the annals of Croatian television production simply because we have never had a TV character who went through such a demanding journey. If we talk about appearance, Franković showed it in subtle nuances and expressions. If we talk about the character, the transformation from the first to the third season leaves us speechless. "Rest in Peace" is probably the only Croatian series so far that is suitable for binge-watching, and the ability of Judita Franković to keep the central character interesting all the time is one of the main reasons for that. 

The lever of the story that revolves around Lucija Car and Mate Šušnjara is completely exhausted here. Lucija has gone from a naive journalist to a traumatized woman who has to finish a story she has started, while Mate has gone from a stenciled antagonist to a complex protagonist of a story dating back to the 1970s. UDBA, the former state secret agency, as the too-often mentioned demon of the Croatian public space and "lustration" as its echo is the context of the classic story of revenge, which, as the famous proverb says, is served cold. Mate will carefully prepare revenge, which is why the relationship between him and Lucija culminates. Two people who otherwise would probably not even drink coffee together met at a common goal. As in the cult series "La Piovra", they are in a strange symbiosis. Their rival is "the web" that has neither head nor tail, and is everywhere. The question of the justification and futility of the effort arises by itself. You can cut off a tentacle from an octopus, but nothing changes. Removing one means that two more have slipped under your radar. That's why the criticism I've had the opportunity to hear, as this season doesn't have a clear antagonist, doesn't hold up. The antagonist is clear if one wants to recognize it. The pamphlet read to us in the tenth episode also suggests this. After three seasons, the question "has anything changed" is completely justified. If we ask ourselves whether everything is really like that and whether everything was in vain, I am afraid that we - like Lucija - will have to go to a psychiatrist.

This season, Dragan Despot was joined by Danko Ljuština and Slavko Štimac - the dream team of Croatian acting. It was wonderful to see the three of them complementing each other as Lucija's support and - each for his own reason - trying to find a way to get rid of the past. Kosta Mandić, as a former UDBA operative, is one of those characters that we could comfortably change a bit so that they would be Number One from Alan Ford comic. The black humor that surrounds the character is one of the most entertaining refreshments of the third season, and his explosive departure that the creators of the series honored us with will remain one of the iconic moments of Croatian television by which we will remember "Rest in Peace". The music of that scene, for which Arsen Dedić was unexpectedly chosen, is a great dedication to one of the greatest Croatian composers. If someone had described the scene to me and said that he had chosen Arsen as the soundtrack, I would have told him that he was crazy and that Mišo Kovač would be more suitable for something like that. The context that accompanies Costa, however, proves me wrong. This "man with an omniscient notebook" was drawn from the Balkan nightmares and the already mentioned Alan Ford comic. It’s a character who deserves his own series, as a spin-off of this one. In the introduction, we could say: “Somewhere there is a nightmare of all those in power. Somewhere where you least expect it, there is a guy who knows everything."

On his return to Croatian screens, Slavko Štimac confirmed that he is a phenomenon. Miki, a boxing coach - who takes on the role of Lucija's conscience/assistant from Miodrag Krivokapić - is a father figure in accordance with all the laws of the genre. The problem I have with this season is in the insufficiently well-developed reactions to Miki's end. Here we come to the point that maybe an episode or two was missing throughout the season. Although Dario Vince and Saša Podgorelec did a great job, I have the impression that the story of killing the "golden youth" could be deepened and elaborated, and that the character of general Koretić (Dejan Aćimović) as a brilliant amalgam of several recognizable phenomena of the Croatian transition could have been better used. It is worth mentioning the memorable Tena Nemet Brankov, as well as the excellent episode by Katarina Strahinić and the breath-taking Inge Appelt. I’m sorry there wasn’t a strong older female character this season. All the female characters are reduced (except Nina Erak who is there to make you laugh and relax) either to characters with trauma or too weak, addicted women. Lucija's mother Katja (Jasna Odorčić) and journalist Zora Agnezi (Jelena Miholjević) are an example of characters who did not overcome their shortcomings from the first season, so I still stand by the fact that the second season benefited from their absence. Refreshment is Lucija's brother Goran (Ivan Ožegović), who is probably the first character in a Croatian feature production to show a person with a disability who is not completely incapable and dependent on someone else's help but has a function and knows what to do with life. While in the first season he only watched pornography and called his mom/sister from the next room, here he is a more independent and realized man. He is not completely without flaws either, but he is a big step in the right direction.

It's time to mention rock band Pips, Chips & Videoclips whose song "K1" has been haunting me for several weeks now, forcing me to think of different possibilities of fictitious and real answers to the question of what it means to "be good in an evil world". The answer to that question is not given to us by the third season of "Rest in Peace", that is, it is not unambiguous. Is it Lucija who sticks her nose in or Lucija who quits from everything to build her own future, leaving it to some new generation to say "Enough!"? This, too, could be the subject of some next Ring Production series if there is interest in it. A series in the same world as "Rest in Peace", with some similar links and references, one of which would be the "Enough!" movement, might make sense. In fact, it would be a shame for this team to stay on this alone. The series "Rest in Peace" paved the way of Croatian TV production for a more demanding audience. Matanić's "Newspaper" also grew on that foundation. We can only hope that "Rest in Peace" will not be a rarity as a series that goes beyond fiction and seeks to educate and bring change.

Something like Kišević's, already mentioned, "point outside the circle".

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"Rest in Peace 3" - by digging graves to the truth, one last time

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In my opinion, of all recent attempts at quality TV production, from "Black-White World" to "Newspaper", "Rest in Peace" is the only fully successful project whose quality in all fields - screenwriting, acting, directing, production - I still watch in disbelief.

The third and final season of the best Croatian modern drama series (no need to choose words)  began broadcasting on HTV 1 on Monday, and you will be able to watch new episodes on Mondays at 9 pm and on HRT's on-demand platform HRTi. All previous episodes are available in the same place, which we have already written about and which we completely recommend you to watch.

Therefore, we will not spend too many words on the poor state of Croatian production and all other tropes that seem necessary when domestic production is mentioned, but we'll dig into the series in the format of a dialogue between somebody who followed it from the beginning (Djevojka) and somebody who binged the whole series in three days (Marko), in an effort to convince you why "Rest in Peace" is worth your time. For review - thanks to the benevolent production - four episodes of the third season were watched, and we will try to keep spoilers to a minimum.

Two years after the epilogue of the Chemix affair in the fictional Istrian Globin, Lucija Car is still withdrawn to the television archive and fighting with her own demons created by previous experiences in Vukovšćak jail and Globin. Fugitive former UDBA murderer Mate Šušnjara will persuade Lucija to investigate the suspicious deaths of members of Zagreb's golden youth, and discovering their graves will reveal the secrets of the Croatian transition hidden for years.

Marko: I had probably the weirdest series of watching episodes ever: S1E01 and after it S3E01, and then everything in between. Even without prior knowledge of everything that happened in between, the interplay between Lucija and Mate in the premiere of the season was brutally tense - the long history between the two characters was obvious and Judita Franković and Dragan Despot played great, and the atmosphere of the whole episode which culminated in their meeting was brilliantly woven. It is the culmination of two seasons of thorough development of the relationship between the two characters and in fact, the relationship is central to the whole series: from an unsolved case in Vukovšćak through attempted murder and sources of information to uncomfortable cooperation. How does this kind of reversal seem to you, and is Mate's newfound desire for revenge a logical change in a character who has so far only carried out orders and looked at how to save himself from imprisonment or death?

Djevojka: First - digression. I am overjoyed that "Rest in Peace" is back. In my opinion, of all recent attempts at quality TV production, from "Black -White World" to "Newspaper", "Rest in Peace" is the only fully successful project whose quality in all fields - screenwriting, acting, directing, production - I still watch in disbelief and as if waiting for the moment when everything falls apart so I can say – aha, they screwed! After all, nothing homemade is good! An additional reason for that was that I was the only member of the editorial board of the site who followed "Rest in Peace", so I felt like the reverse unfaithful Tom - the only one who had faith in the impossible - a quality work of our production. I mean, it's clear to everyone how much luck and effort it probably took to make everything fit together perfectly - we have actors we see most often in humorous roles that just break up, we have a great script and dialogues that sound like they weren't written by robots - and contrary to all Croatian clientelistic-nepotistic tendencies - in the case of "Rest in Peace", the quality of someone's work has won! It’s amazing and wonderful and so sad at the same time, because of all that I’m convinced that after "Rest in Peace" we won’t be seeing anything at this level for a long, long time.

M: I am affected by this now because I also believe that the existence of quality domestic series is possible. I would also mention "Road Patrol", which was weaker than the "Rest in Peace", but still a good omen. The only reason why I didn't start watching "Rest in Peace" was only because they weren't on VOD, later they fell into the drawer "I'll look later" until now the new season practically made me look. And I hope other readers who have left it aside would correct that mistake. Also, I do not agree, I hope it will not be true that we will not see something similar for a long time.

D: Ha look… according to the current catastrophic state of production I have nothing to base any hope on that we will soon see some really quality project after this. "Rest in Peace" is the only ray of light in that darkness. But yes, I think "Mamutica" was the beginning of something different, and I have to correct my mistake and watch "Loza", but let's get back to the topic - I have a question for you: as someone who came to the premiere of the third season of "Rest in Peace", what's your verdict on the series as you watched it as a tabula rasa? How much dramatic weight of the season-opening relies on the performance itself, and how much on the knowledge of the previous plot and character development over the past seasons? And now to answer your question - Mate is still unknown to me at the moment, to be exact, I don't trust him. Even after four episodes I’m not fully convinced of his motivation. Obviously, he marked me as well as he marked Lucija, and left the impression of a cold-blooded killer, and it really surprised me when he left Lucija alive last season. I can understand the revenge campaign of a person who lost everything and now wants to return "the favor" to everyone at all costs, I think the scene in which he finds out about his sister's death and the one in which he sets his plan to return to life is excellent, but… The first time Lucija confronted him since last season sparked tension precisely because we don’t know what to expect from him. The masterful acting of Judita Franković and Dragan Despot in any case.

M: It wasn't exactly a complete tabula rasa, that tabula was a little dirty with the first episode. So in part, the tension was colored by the shock of how their relationship developed in twenty episodes in between, and apart from the shock and the need to experience how they did it - right away - but for the most part, I would say, the performance in all fields is to be credited. The music is also very important, they made huge progress with a musical score from the first to the third season. All the other elements were well arranged from the beginning and now they are just polished, but the music… especially in the first season, was quite… plastic, overemphasized to create the effect of drama, and now it seems to me that everything is completely ironed out. I will certainly be sorry that this is the end here, but it is good that the number of episodes is limited and that the story will have an end. My mother and I do not believe at all and we will only discover, I'm sure, his true motivation, but again, he follows the patterns of other popular villains who have become in some way dear (or at least interesting) to both audiences and screenwriters and his transition from a complete beast, from a villain to a kind of antihero is not so unusual.

M: It can be seen that the budget grew through the seasons, although in the first production was excellent, now it seems that the number of shots taken from drones has increased and, as Dario Vince said, "you have never seen such directing on Croatian television."

D: It is noticeable, not only from wide high-altitude shots but also in carefully decorated interiors such as Lucija's and especially Kosta Mandić's apartment, as well as the apartment of a respected judge or parent of skater Nevena… Even the wardrobe, lighting… I have no complaints, everything is in place, great.

M: The last two seasons both had an arch that practically ended a few episodes before the end to eventually add a twist or almost coda that twisted things or (in the case of the second season) brought back characters from the first that we didn’t see the whole season and incorporated them into the story. It was one of the few things that caught my eye a little negatively, but now it seems like it will level it off, although again we have no idea where it will end up. It seems that Romano (Goran Navojec) will also have a role this season, I'm not sure how happy I am with that.

D: Yes, I would say that this time they will make a combination of a seasonal story with episodic stories, and apparently, I think it works well. The tragic destinies of young people are very interesting and well-told, and I have no clue what will the weaving look like in the end. In addition, the "Enough!" movement has been added as an antipode to the generational burden of the past, which will undoubtedly be either connected or merged with that plot or coda that you’ve noticed has been present so far at the end of each season. We'll see. As for Romano, I hope Lucija will ignore him, but I can see how she will forgive him in the end because she has had more bad decisions so far, and who knows, maybe they really deserve to be together.

M: Vince also stated that the entire top Croatian actors have gathered this season, and I can only agree with that. I also hope that "Rest in Peace" shows that it is not a problem (only?) In actors who are wooden, theatrically educated, or similar bad epithets, but that it is important that someone knows how to tell them what and how, because the actors are really top-notch. Both the younger and the old guard, the freshest thing I can remember now is Inge Appelt (Grandma Rosa) who embodied a beautifully touching character.

D: Grandma Rosa is wonderful. Everyone should have such a grandmother. In my opinion, the problem was never in the actors, but only in the material given to them. Clearly, there are always exceptions, but "Rest in Peace" shows us how important a good script and good directing are. We can only hope that our actors will have the opportunity to show all their talent in future projects. 

M: The news was a couple of years ago that the rights to the series were bought by foreign production companies, but what is one of the biggest pluses of the series is how authentically Croatian it is - from episodic sad fates of prisoners in the first season and privatization intertwined with the story of a traditional little place in the second season, to this golden youth and the murky economy and politics in the third - to the recognizable locations and manners of the characters. I hope that foreigners will recognize that as well, and if a foreign adaptation happens, it will also inspire a local flair. Because no matter how tense the story itself, it was great to recognize Ratkaj's passage, the pedestrian bridge in Kustošija, the HRT building, Zrinjevac, Cvjetno naselje, Dubravkin put, and many other locations, and I believe it was similar for Istrians. And without too many appointments, it gave me a great impression of "reality". At least, on the other hand, it would be nice to see a story that hasn't been colored by the subtext of the last few decades, the war, and everything that went with it, but I guess it won't happen until the next generation.

D: Let them sell rights because I think without it they might not have either the second or third season. Yes, it is fantastic to see the familiar scenery and places we pass or where we drink coffee, I agree that it somehow especially revives the story, and thus the characters - we place them in our reality, and our reality is that of privatization, robbery, UDBA, Ustashas, partisans, economic crime, pervasive corruption and unbreakable ties to the past. Not to mention the complete shackles of the past, from the fact that today (and it will certainly be so in 20 years or more) the Ustashas, partisans, lustration are regularly and normally discussed not only in bars but in the highest state bodies, so it has never been enough for our people to know who you are, they must know "whose you are", where you are from, where "yours" are from, and only on that basis do they judge you - regardless of who you really are. That is why I am glad that someone has finally managed to embody - even if fictitiously - our burden with what was and the impossibility of turning a blank slate, because a lot of things are unknown to us, non-transparent and blurry, and in order to achieve the truth it is necessary to dig graves.

M: I have nothing to add here, I totally agree. And I would end with that thought because I don't think I can give a better recommendation to this series.

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"Rest in Peace" season 3 raised the bar high

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In the first episode, the arrogant son of general Koretić is shot in a folk club (convincingly shown). Although the authors (Dario Vince and Saša Podgorelec) assured us that we should not look for the key to the characters in Croatian reality, it was difficult not to see the character of general Korade and his troubled son in general Koretić, played by Dejan Aćimović.

If  "Rest in Peace" third season is the new standard of the domestic drama program, then we should be satisfied. The first episode of the new season that journalists had the opportunity to see in the cinema impressively opens and closes with the Pips, Chips & Videoclips song K1 of significant verses: "Be good in an evil world, try to stay in the light...". 

We watch the adventures of stubborn journalist Lucija Car who, completely traumatized by the events of previous seasons, hidden in the television archives, trains boxing and, willy-nilly, finds herself again at the center of criminal events - the murders of the children of Croatian rich people.

Judita Franković is completely related to the character of Lucija Car and works very well in dynamics with the dark character of the UDBA killer Mate Šušnjara (Dragan Despot), whom he plays very well, overgrown with long hair and beard.

And it is precisely the acting creations as well as the photography of Darko Drinovac and the confident direction of Goran Rukavina that are the main qualities of what we have seen. It is a real pleasure to watch Slavko Štimac in the role of Lucija's boxing coach (but not only coach) while Nina Erak, as a chatty colleague of Lucija from the television archive, is a master. After all, this is what domestic drama series should serve - to remind us how good Croatian actors are.

In the first episode, the arrogant son of general Koretić is shot in a folk club (convincingly shown). Although the authors (Dario Vince and Saša Podgorelec) assured us that we should not look for the key to the characters in Croatian reality, it was difficult not to see the character of general Korade and his troubled son in general Koretić, played by Dejan Aćimović. The third season has ten episodes, and Ring production, judging by the first episode, did a great job.

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The best stories are around us - "Rest in Peace 3"

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In my opinion, and I say this without remorse, there is currently nothing better in domestic production.

We remember January 15 as an important date in recent Croatian history. Although it coincided by chance, that date could be symbolically important for Croatian television production as well. The third season of "Rest in Peace" starts at 9 pm on the First Program of the national television. This season once again pushes the boundaries of Croatian production and shows how it is possible, even within our framework, to make a valuable product. After the first season took journalist Lucija Car to Vukovšćak prison, where each episode dealt with the graves of former prisoners, the second set a more ambitious story in Istria, a new concept for Croatian production at the time: one season - one story. The third season can be seen as a combination of these two approaches, with additional production, acting, directing, and screenwriting progress that sets the bar high for future projects. For the benefit of all of us, I hope that "Rest in Peace" will not be left alone in its ambition, but that we will use the lesson they offer us. We could briefly reduce it to: "the best stories are around us".

After watching four episodes, we can find links to the current moment in the story. Some are obvious, and some are hidden and scattered throughout the plot as "Easter eggs" that we must find. I am glad to see that the series has overcome the constant pains of domestic productions in which characters do not develop, sometimes to the level of caricature. In "Rest in Peace" the familiar characters from previous seasons are present with a trace of what happened to them, and it's interesting to see how they cope with traumas. Because of this, it seems to me, the third season can be divided into two general levels: the trauma of the individual and the trauma of society. Lucija Car, as the central character of the story, fights the demons of the past while trying to find meaning in the present. I have to point out the dynamics of Nina Erak and Judita Franković who, as colleagues in the office, give the series a comic-relief that the story lacked in previous seasons, so it seemed gloomier than it should have been. Also, I must mention that there are more comic moments than in the previous two seasons, and they do not seem forced, so it is one of the elements why season three stands out in comparison to seasons one and two.

I am glad to notice the progress in the development of the character of Lucija's brother Goran (Ivan Ožegović). One of the main objections I pointed out after the first season was the characterization of her mother (Jasna Odorčić) and brother who did not have a clearly defined purpose and - especially in the case of Lucija's brother in a wheelchair - gave the impression of a caricature. In season three it has been corrected, so a person with a disability is no longer just a means of achieving empathy but acts as a full-blooded character who has function and meaning in the story. Moving people with disabilities from the level of clichés to the level of a character who has something to say is another important moment by which "Rest in Peace" moved the boundaries of what we have had the opportunity to see in our production so far. There is a clear need for the series to move barriers, and I mean both the technical ones and the expectations. "Rest in Peace" is a series that wants to communicate with the audience without hiding that it gambles with the question of whether the audience wants to communicate at all. The space of recognizing everyday life that opens the third season of "Rest in Peace" may be the main reason why you should turn on your TVs. It is important to point out that this series does not underestimate the audience, and that is a welcome refreshment for Croatian production, you will agree.

The willingness to take risks accompanies every project that has a desire to shake up what we are used to. Since 2011, Ring Produkcija has not come to terms with stubbornness and established procedures. Already in the first episode of the new season, through the interplay of Lucija Car and Mate Šušnjara (Dragan Despot), you will notice the complexity of the relationship in which it will not be clear whether Despot plays an antagonist here (which is undoubtedly the case in the first two seasons) or his character division. Despot and Franković complement each other as they start from completely different starting points to clarify the mystery through the story. The mystery, which I won't talk too much about, includes the "gray eminence" of society and the golden youth it produces. Can children be blamed for their parents’ actions, and is there a narrative in which they are morally superior to them? I like the use of "golden youth" as a catalyst for action. Intelligently connecting what we can read in the newspaper/watch in the news with the fictional world of the series leaves the impression that we recognize the elements of the series storyline when we open any portal. The script seems to portray in many things the media and society we deserve, instead of the ones we have. The self-referentiality that the series achieves in this way seems natural.

The last part I want to emphasize, although this is only the first text about the third season of several planned, is a supplement to the direction of Goran Rukavina, the photography by Darko Drinovac, and a repetitive song by Pips, Chips & Videoclips - "K1".

Is it possible to "be good in an evil world"? Check out on Monday, at 9 pm, on HRT 1, as well as on the HRTi multimedia service. In my opinion, and I say this without remorse, there is currently nothing better in domestic production.

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"Rest in Peace" - another step forward of the most serious Croatian series

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Actually, we could say that 'Rest in Peace' invented its standards. A special mixture of crime stories and characteristic local circumstances created something that could be called Croatian noire. 'Rest in Peace' never resembled anything else, it never referred to either the Scandinavians and their crime stories or 'Wire' or who knows what... It had its own style, theme, specifically related to this area, and yet - universal.

The main heroine of the series is still - although reluctantly - engaged in 'digging graves', but now two unexpected collaborators are starting to help her. The mixture of crime mysteries, specific local and historical circumstances, and the controversial presence of 'old UDBA agent' give the series a distinctive, at times even darkly witty note.

The third season of the series 'Rest in Peace', which airs on Monday, January 15, at 9 pm on HTV 1, caused a feeling of elation and despair at the same time. I must immediately mention that this latter feeling of despair has nothing to do with the series itself because what I have watched so far (three episodes) has not caused me anything desperate or bad. This feeling of despair is connected, however, with the fact that 'Rest in Peace' seems to be the only thing left of hope that a quality feature production that has been the standard in the world for at least two decades can sneak up on HTV.

When it appeared, this series was a flash in the dark - it showed that there are people in Croatia who are aware of the rising standards of TV series, their possibilities and that there are people who have enough talent and ability to follow these standards. Actually, we could say that 'Rest in Peace' invented its standards. A special mixture of crime stories and characteristic local circumstances created something that could be called Croatian noire. 'Rest in Peace' never resembled anything else, it never referred to either the Scandinavians and their crime stories or 'Wire' or who knows what… It had its own style, theme, specifically related to this area, and yet - universal.

But at the time when 'Rest in Peace' appeared on the domestic media scene, it was as if some progress was felt, that this might be the beginning of a better quality TV production in Croatia. A few more good or at least acceptable series were filmed that differed from the standard domestic consumer garbage, we also got 'Black and White World' and 'Newspaper' and... Then somehow everything stopped. The third season of 'Rest in Peace' now, in the new circumstances, where there is no talk of filming almost anything but the story of general Gotovina, seems like a brilliant backlog from a time when something better seemed possible, and which is in vain. interrupted by a climate in which the content of what is being recorded is determined by associations and individuals who have nothing to do with television or - in some cases - common sense.

Enough whining about how, apart from this child of Ring Produkcija, there are no indications of turning to the gold standards of quality television - here's what you can look forward to in the new season of this series.

'Rest in Peace' retained its core in the third season, but also thumped well. Our main heroine, journalist Lucija Car (Judita Franković) is at the beginning quite catatonic, introspective, and hidden in the archive, where she silently and by digging through old articles and recordings solves her traumas from past seasons and beyond. Lucija also got a certain Hamlet dimension because her late father and the first crime mentor from the first season, Martin Strugar (Miodrag Krivokapić), often appears like a mirage in these turmoils.

There is, of course, our old acquaintance and dark villain from the first two seasons, the cruel murderer Mate Šušnjara (almost unrecognizable Dragan Despot), who this season, with his friend, former journalist and secret service associate Kosta Mandić ( Danko Ljuština), decides to help Lucija solve the case of the death of numerous members of the Golden Youth. That twist - in which Šušnjara turns from a sworn enemy into a kind of Lucija's mentor - is currently (ie in the three episodes I watched) the most interesting element of the series. Two old villains who readily rented their cruelty and information to the secret services of the former and current regime are approaching us more this season than before, but, of course, we do not fully trust them and it is not entirely certain whether they will remain helpers or their engagement prepares some kind of final countdown.

When I say that Lucia's relationship with the former nemesis is the most interesting part of the series in its very beginning, it does not mean that it is the only interesting part. Faithful to the fact that in each of its plots it remains aware of the society, 'Rest in peace' smartly - sometimes with major interventions, and sometimes only with incidental details - shows the current dissolution of Croatian society and its important actors. Brave journalists, for example, are retreating into the background this season, running cafes instead of investigations, and Lucija's colleague from the archives, like a blazed Greek choir, comes in every now and then with interpretations of events and resigned attitudes towards them as the majority of the public.

Of course, as in the seasons before this one, a lot of things are happening here, we meet many new characters and, as in all seasons of this series so far, we encounter acting performances that are high above most acting performances in other domestic series - even when it comes to the actors we see everywhere. Dragan Despot with his portrayal of Šušnjara is not the only such example - let's just remember Nada Gaćešić Livaković in the first season, where she got the opportunity to play a remarkable, complex, and emotional role through the character of a prison guard that she did not play in her entire career, and here, this season, we will still experience this from a few veterans, but also from young actors, with whom the director and the rest of the team of this series knew how to work better than anyone else in domestic television production.

Yes, I admit, I’m a fan of the 'Rest in Peace' series and that’s why I’m maybe a little lighter on the panegyrics. But because of my fondness for this series, I am also more often in fear that they'll screw something, which has happened too many times in series that I would like at first. ‘Rest in Peace’ so far, in the first three episodes I’ve watched, haven’t blown anything. There is therefore no reason not to turn on the TV on Monday at the time of their broadcast. You could also be cheered up by some old, familiar faces you haven't seen on television in a while.

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Rest in Peace: someone is killing members of the Golden Youth, but it is not known why and whether the chain will continue

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In a way, this is the most provocative season. As subversive as it may be, the first referred to the 1990s and earlier periods, the second moved to Istria and moved somewhat away from the centers of power, while the third is at their very center.

The third season of the series "Rest in Peace", which has ten one-hour episodes, will start broadcasting on the First Channel of HRT on January 15 at 9 pm. Enough reason to book an appointment to spend time with the TV, and if you miss a few episodes, I guess it will be available on the HRTi service.

"Rest in peace" really deserves attention. The first season, after a long delay, started in the program at the beginning of 2013 and quite surprised us with its content. In the general story, a young journalist Lucija Car (Judita Franković) arrived on assignment at the Vukovšćak prison, which is about to be liquidated, and in the yard she finds a pile of graves of people about whom nothing is known. She has no choice but to turn for help to the former prison guard Martin Strugar (Miodrag Krivokapić), who reluctantly becomes her ally. Lucija also has problems because no one in her editorial office is interested in the story of the dark side of Vukovšćak. People there suffered because they resented someone, because they naively tried to take revenge on society, and sometimes because of their wrong nationality. Lucija, with Martin's help, finds the files of those who now rest in peace, so in each episode - at least for most of the series - incredible stories are revealed, especially shocking when it comes to the ideological standards of our television productions. Not only the period of transition but also socialism was dissected here and getting to prison during the 1990s seemed to be the scariest thing that could happen to you. There is no talk of justice and guilt, more misfortune that befell you without you deserve it.

The series did not cause excessive controversy, yet the new millennium guaranteed that much had changed since the 1990s, but it aroused considerable interest and was well received at the Seoul International Television Festival. There, the world's rights were sold to the Swedish company Ecco Rights, which seemed great, because it persuaded the American Lionsgate Television (they produced, among other things, the great "Madison Boys") to buy the format for a possible American remake. In the meantime, none of that happened, but since it is known that hundreds of such world series enter Hollywood television workshops and only one-tenth (and maybe less) ends up as "Homeland" (the American version of the Israeli series "Prisoner of War"), but the very fact that the Americans became interested in the Croatian product was a remarkable success.

Ring Production, led by Dario Vince, the former creative director of the prestigious marketing agency Digitel, has meanwhile produced a second season, which had two episodes less, a total of ten. While the first season was directed together by Goran Rukavina and Kristijan Milić (each took a same number of episodes), the second was made entirely by Goran Dukić, a graduate of the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Arts, who is still remembered for his brilliant short feature film "Mirta Learns Statistics". Dukić went to America in the mid-1990s and managed to make a fantastic independent comedy “Pizzeria Kamikaze” with a pretty respectable cast (it also included Tom Waits). The new jobs didn't shower him, it's hard to round up the budget of the next film, even when your debut is praised, so Vince's offer came at the right time.

The novelty is that there were no more time jumps between the present and the past (that is - a little), while the plot was linear and did not take place in Zagreb and its surroundings, but in picturesque Istria. There, Lucija Car was sent on a new mission, she had to write a report on a cult, ie a religious sect that offers human sacrifice on its altar.

This time there is no reliable Martin Strugar with her, he died at the end of the first season, but the sympathetic policeman Romano Soršak (Goran Navojec) soon found himself next to the enterprising journalist, and it seems that Mate Šušnjara (Dragan Despot), a former UDBA killer, was not such a black devil as he seemed at first. Disobedient Lucija quickly loses interest in reporting on the cult (although it is obvious that it exists), she is more intrigued by the story of an asbestos factory in which workers are allegedly poisoned and around which the interests of high politics intertwine. This is already worth reporting on, which, of course, infuriates its Zagreb clients. Also, it turns out that almost all the assessments that Lucia initially made were wrong and that this time she is in greater danger than she has ever been.

The second season also attracted a lot of attention from foreign buyers, but Ring Production has already learned a lot from the experience of the first season. Their Swedish distributor at first pushed “Rest in Peace” very well, however, it turned out that in the meantime they discovered the world of Turkish soap operas and everything else ceased to interest them.

Vince sold the series to Belgian television, where there were also unexpected viewers, for example, one Spanish journalist on his blog drew parallels between Spanish history and the Croatian transition and came up with incredible coincidences. More importantly, however, it was probably seen there by Walter Iuzzolino, editor of the Walter Presents service on BBC4, which broadcasts interesting series that you have to watch with subtitles because they are not in English and bought it for his program. In his opinion, the second season is even more attractive because it takes place in incredibly expressive Istrian landscapes and has elements of the occult. Last year, Walter Presents was launched in America, where the market is not easy because the war between large streaming companies has just flared up. Both seasons were always among the top five thrillers (for a short time "Rest in Peace" was even third), which is a remarkable success.

It is only this year that the series will be in his program in the UK so we will see how Iuzzolino’s domestic audience will react.

The third season is just coming to an end, Vince is satisfied with the slot on HRT, and the production conditions. For the first time, they worked without too much stress, they didn't have to patch up individual episodes with their own money, they got everything they needed, even the types of cars driven by individual protagonists.

He kept the position of showrunner (we weighed for a long time which of Croatian words would correspond to that expression for a man who makes decisions on creative issues in Hollywood series, but we couldn't decide on any), he wrote the script again with Saša Podgorelec according to the American writer's room system - two or three writers edit one scene until everyone is happy with it, and the director is Goran Rukavina, who has been in the project from the very beginning, only missed the second season.

In a way, this is the most provocative season. As subversive as it may be, the first referred to the 1990s and earlier periods, the second moved to Istria and moved somewhat away from the centers of power, while the third is at their very center. Who are the protagonists? General Josip Koretić (Dejan Aćimović), who gained the rank in the war, but used it to create a business empire around bottled water. You have the impression that in an instant he will liquidate anyone who hinders him in realizing his plans.

There is also Vjeran Bedrica (Sreten Mokrović), a Dalmatian without a special background, who first became the owner of television and then the news portal. however, all this is slowly falling apart, as is his health. His daughter Nevena (Katarina Strahinić), the Croatian champion in figure skating, died five years ago, allegedly in a suicide, but maybe her father's business machinations are also to blame, which many did not like. Finally, among the powerful who are unaware of what they did wrong is Nikica Stančec (Damir Šaban), a Supreme Court judge: one wrong step cost him family tragedies.

It is also a riddle from which Lucija Car starts this season. Each of the three mentioned lost a loved one not so long ago and it is obvious that this is not a coincidence: someone is killing members of the Golden Youth, but it is not known why and whether this chain will continue. Flashbacks are quite freely related to the current action, but if this is not a problem for you in foreign series, you will easily find your way here as well.

The main problem is that Lucija should not deal with all this, disappointed with the Istrian experience in which her dear Romano proved to be a double player, she became an archivist on television where she spends working hours gossiping with a colleague from work (Nina Erak). She conducts all investigations in private, trying to use the Internet as much as possible and talk to witnesses as little as possible. Besides, she has completely changed. According to Vince, in the first season, she was like a function that connected key characters, she was not a heroine of flesh and blood, in the second season something between a girl and a boy, and only in the third did she grow into a real woman using bright red lipstick and attractive clothes. Judita Franković understood this concept very well and she seems incomparably more feminine than in the first two seasons. The most interesting thing is that she started learning martial arts, she is already good at boxing, and her coach is Slavko Štimac, who has not lost anything of his charisma.

Not only Lucija gave up active journalism, her friend Ines Polić (Nina Violić), who we once claimed resembled the late Jasna Babić, now runs a café and it is obvious that she does not know too much about this business. Lucia gets information from her on a dropper and it is not certain whether everything she says is reliable.

Mate Šušnjara, on the other hand, has completely changed, he is ready to cooperate with Lucija. In the first episodes, he wears long hair and a beard and looks more like a homeless man, but when he needs to, he will turn into a reliable, make-up driver who looks like he works for the mafia. In his later job, he has to work with Sep (Mladen Vulić), general Koretić's war friend, who is in an awkward situation because he is looking after his flirtatious daughter Buga (Tena Nemet Brankov) and it does not occur to him to cross the border with her. The interplay between Acimovic and Vulic, two very strong actors, is especially good, as they would impose themselves too much in certain scenes if they did not control each other.

I ask Vince if the series is based on authentic events, yet there have been quite a few similar cases in our country that have remained unresolved to this day. By no means, he says. While in Digitel, he met a multitude of people resembling his heroes, a social cream that got rich overnight, and that’s exactly why he avoids any coincidences. The series is the fruit of imagination, and the fact that reality occasionally reminds us of it is not direct.

Judging by the first four episodes, the third season of the series "Rest in Peace" will be a real television event, excellently written and acted, excellently filmed (Darko Drinovac), the production is first-class in all aspects, and the novelty is that this time there's rock music. In the first season, the not very ambitious soundtrack was supposed to cover up the shortcomings of the production, but it seemed to be made for a soap opera. The second was a step forward thanks to the distinctive Istrian musical sound, and the third uses songs by Pips, Chips & Videoclips. Vince contacted band leader Dubravko Ivaniš Ripper, he was interested in the conditions under which he could use the motives of his song "K1", but it turned out that Ripper was a big fan of the series, he watched both seasons, and he would be glad to include his other works. The result is excellent, so "Rest in Peace 3" can boast of the first successful dramatic use of rock soundtrack in our country.

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