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Two years after the epilogue of the Chemix affair in the fictional Istrian Globin, Lucija Car is still withdrawn to the television archive and fighting with her own demons created by previous experiences in Vukovšćak jail and Globin.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.

source >