''Cheese and Jam'' (, also known as ''Cottage Cheese and Marmalade'') is a

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

about the relationship between a Bosnian man and a Slovene woman in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, though the film begins by explaining it is about the stigmatized minority of any nation.

Characters

Branko Đurić Branko Đurić (; born 28 May 1962), also known by his nickname Đuro (Cyrillic: Ђуро), is a Bosnian actor, comedian, film director and musician, who lives and works in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Born and raised in Sarajevo, Đurić rose to prom ...

as Božo, the beer-drinking, football-watching, jobless guy from

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. *

Tanja Ribič Tanja Ribič (born 28 June 1968) is a Slovenian actress and singer. Biography Ribič graduated from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana. She has been a member of Ljubljana City Theatre since 1992. She represented ...

as Špela, his Slovene wife who loves him, but after some fights decides to leave. * Dragan Bjelogrlić as Goran, Božo's criminal friend who finds the job for Božo when he asks him for help.

Plot

Špela, a younger Slovene woman lives with Bosnian boyfriend Božo. She has a job while Božo is unemployed and prefers staying at home, drinking beer and watching TV. After Špela leaves Božo because of his laziness and lack of will to find a job and moves back to her parents, he asks his friend Goran for help and gets a job as a

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

impersonator at a local fair. A chance meeting with Špela leaves her less than impressed due to the simplicity of the job which seems ridiculous to her. Reluctantly, Božo accepts Goran's offer for a job involving smuggling illegal immigrants from Slovenia to Italy. Goran loses his nerve and forces the immigrants to end their trip before they arrive to Italy - which doesn't go unnoticed by his boss after the immigrants are found by the police. After deceiving his boss, Goran is beaten, but he and Božo are offered a second chance: together with two thugs, they are to intimidate an innkeeper who had stopped paying protection money. Coincidentally, Špela is also there, celebrating her father's birthday. After the initial surprise she verbally attacks Božo for joining the criminals but she is immediately molested by one of the thugs. Seeing this, Božo attacks him with a bottle, causing the other one to pull out a

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

and shoot Božo. Following this incident, the thugs are arrested, Božo is taken to the hospital and Goran is beaten once again. After recovering from the wounds, Božo considers committing suicide, but changes his mind. Špela returns to him and tells him she is pregnant. The film ends with Božo, Špela and their daughter who are now a happy family.

Release and reception

125,000 tickets were sold on the film's release to Slovenian cinemas and it currently holds the Slovenian record for domestic film attendance. Branko Đurić won a Grand Golden Roll for the film. Branko Đurić is the real life husband of Tanja Ribič. The role of Božo and Špela's daughter is played by their daughter, Zala Đurić-Ribič.

External links

* 2003 films 2003 comedy films Slovene-language films Films set in Slovenia Slovenian comedy films Films scored by Saša Lošić {{2000s-comedy-film-stub