#TIFF23: “WORKING CLASS GOES TO HELL” REVIEW

By David Baldwin

A factory fire five years ago is still haunting the plant’s union. They know there is more to it, and with a new incinerator plant being erected and wealthy pockets being lined, the union’s members are starting to get desperate for work. Labour leader Ceca (Tamara Krcunović) is not willing to give up, and with the reappearance of an old union member, starts turning to the occult to turn things around.

Writer/Producer/Director Mladen Đorđević imbues WORKING CLASS GOES TO HELL with a contagious sense of impending dread that never dissipates. You are constantly on edge and not sure of what might happen next; meanwhile Đorđević is ratcheting up the tension in the background to unbearably queasy levels. Additionally, he gives the Film a stark colour scheme, with everything being muted for the majority of time and then illuminates key moments in an extremely bright red (a not so subtle reference to who this group starts praying to no doubt). The settings the union finds themselves in – primarily in and out of Ceca’s apartment – feel so real that you can practically smell the grime and the filth wafting off this Balkan town.

While there are some strange moments permeating throughout the Film and a wild third act flip I was not expecting, I feel like the rest of the Film lacked the energy and zest to make this bleak Political Satire really amount to much. By the time it ended, I was left feeling empty and cold (and rather annoyed by the conclusion of one specific dangling plot thread). Krcunović does her best to steer the ship, bringing an intense wave of emotions with every step she makes. Lidija Kordić is the Film’s MVP however, playing the young and impressionable Danica. Her mother was killed in the fire and she has not spoken since, which is just the tip of the tragedy that befalls her. Kordić commands the screen with her eyes saying all the words her mouth does not. It is the type of quiet, nuanced work that you will not be able to take your eyes off of.

WORKING CLASS GOES TO HELL screens at TIFF ’23:

Thursday, September 14 at 11:59 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre

Friday, September 15 at 8:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sunday, September 17 at 6:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto