Only a few people in Dita’s house are related by blood, but you wouldn’t know that by how they move. They’re tight-knit but argumentative, loving at times but spiteful in other instances. In other words, they’re complicated just like any other family. Housekeeping for Beginners makes a compelling case for the validity—and at times necessity—of found families like Dita’s, who all found each other after being shunned by their race and sexuality. As in his previous works, Director Goran Stolevski paints a realistic and relevant portrait here, one tinted with striking pain and poignancy, bound to leave your heart aching long after the credits roll.
"There are many greatly moving moments in the director’s third feature, all connected by a heartfelt understanding of the value of nurturing companionship."
— Rafa Sales Ross
"Like an unkempt home that is messy to the visitor’s eye, yet where the owner can find anything in a heartbeat, “Housekeeping for Beginners” is in full control of its disorder."
— Guy Lodge
Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters—Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family's struggle to stay together.
When her partner Suada (Alina Serban) passes away, social worker Dita (Anamaria Marinca) is forced to become a reluctant mother to her children, plus the outsiders who’ve found their way to Dita’s house.
The naturalism emanating from every frame and every performance, even the one from little Mia (Dzada Selim).
Modern Family 2.0 (Southeast Europe Edition).
Venice
1 nomination
