Surviving Earth

There’s a dreamlike quality to Thea Gajic’s debut feature, Surviving Earth, which was partly inspired by the life of her father. It’s an appropriate tone that mirrors the idealism of its central protagonist, a Serbian immigrant who soothes his trauma through music.

A recovering addict, Vlad (Slavko Sobin), works as a 12-step mentor in Bristol. He plays the harmonica in a Balkan pub band, which is comprised of his fellow addiction counsellors, and dreams of the group making it big. A man firmly living in the past, he refuses to use self-service machines, insisting on the importance of human connection during a supermarket outing with his daughter, Maria (Olive Gray), an art student. Though poor, the altruistic Vlad digs out spare change for a homeless man, with whom he’s on first-name terms, and his voice is filled with nostalgia as he recalls Yugoslavia under communism.

A film about the unhealthy coping mechanisms that men often adopt in lieu of openly talking about their feelings, we also see the darker side of Vlad. He exhibits a disregard for adult responsibilities and enters bouts of rage, resulting in his daughter becoming parentified. Sobin gives a moving, naturalistic performance as Vlad, whose personal demons are rooted in his conscription during the Yugoslav Wars. Gray is similarly compelling as a young woman who idolises her father, yet is all too aware of his mental and emotional fragility

Beautifully shot, the vibrant cinematography doesn’t align with its realist ethos, making it a unique spin on cinema verité. It eschews the grainy documentary style of, say, Ken Loach, for a lush palette. The colours have a coherence to them, more akin to the distinct, painting-esque films of Peter Greenaway.

The feature does fall a little flat. At times, it resorts to clichéd narratives, some muddled and others undeveloped. That said, Gajic shows immense promise as a young director, with a unique visual style that elevates the film.

Gajic’s big screen debut is a heartfelt meditation on what it means to be an immigrant who’s in limbo between their adopted culture and the culture they left behind. Surviving Earth explores fractured identity, toxic masculinity and trauma, and is ultimately a tale of creativity as a force of emancipation for the marginalised.