THE STORY – Belgrade is a city split in two. In the occupied buildings and crowded streets, Lena fights for a world she believes can be changed. From the same neighbourhood, Stefan is torn between the life he wants and the forces pulling him to the other side of the protests. When they meet, they recognise a shared restlessness neither can quite name.
THE CAST – Lena Trifunović, Andrija Krivokapić, Irina Hotomski, Stefan Tarabić & Miodrag Miša Dragičević
THE TEAM – Jelena Maksimović (Director/Writer) & Ivan Salatić and Olga Dimitrijević (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 91 Minutes
Political unrest can provide an enormously potent backdrop for a coming-of-age story. The uncertainty, anger, and idealism of youth naturally intersect with the desire to challenge a world inherited from previous generations. Jelena Maksimović’s “Until the Day Ends” has the added advantage of capturing a movement that is not merely historical. Developed against the backdrop of Serbia’s student-led anti-government protests, the film incorporates demonstrations unfolding around its own production. That proximity gives the opening passages an immediacy that is difficult to manufacture. Unfortunately, the further the film moves away from the streets, the less compelling it becomes.
Lena (Lena Trifunović) is an anarchist student actively involved in the demonstrations taking place across Belgrade. Stefan (Andrija Krivokapić) comes from a working-class background and lacks her political convictions. Their paths cross when he helps her brother sell the piano that once belonged to their father. There is an immediate friction between the two, intensified when Stefan finds himself drawn into the protests. One increasingly chaotic night eventually forces them to leave Belgrade together, transforming political upheaval into the backdrop for an unlikely romance.
Maksimović finds the film’s strongest material amid the chaos of the demonstrations. One particularly memorable sequence tracks a paving stone as it passes from hand to hand before being hurled at a police officer. By remaining close to the object, the camera allows individual faces to disappear into the movement of the crowd, capturing how quickly personal action can become part of something larger and uncontrollable. That immediacy is heightened by real students and non-professional performers appearing alongside the central characters. Belgrade feels genuinely unsettled, giving the film flashes of the anger, excitement, and uncertainty surrounding a politically charged generation.
Once Lena and Stefan leave the demonstrations behind, “Until the Day Ends” loses much of that urgency. The narrative grows increasingly fragmented and the deliberate pacing slows as the politically charged youth drama becomes a more abstract journey through darkness and nature. This shift also exposes the limitations of the central relationship. Despite differences in ideology, background, and their connection to the protests, Lena and Stefan rarely develop enough meaningful tension to sustain the film once its political backdrop recedes. Trifunović and Krivokapić bring an appealing naturalism to their roles, but the screenplay gives them too little to uncover. Lena initially seems particularly compelling through her political convictions, only to become less defined as the story progresses. The wider portrayal of the protesters can also feel reductive, particularly when young activists taking drugs before demonstrations evokes familiar stereotypes of rebellious youth. Considering the production’s proximity to the real movement, greater curiosity about the people sustaining it could have added considerable depth.
Maksimović consistently impresses behind the camera. “Until the Day Ends” moves between static compositions and restless camera movements, using darkness, lens flares, and changing light to striking effect. As the city gives way to nature, however, that visual confidence becomes increasingly self-conscious. Images linger, camera movements call attention to themselves, and atmosphere begins to replace meaningful character development. The same problem affects the relationship between Lena and Stefan. Their opposing relationships to political engagement could have created a fascinating tension, but the romance and political backdrop rarely deepen one another. By the time dawn arrives, Maksimović finds some of her strongest imagery and a hopeful conclusion, though the fragmented journey weakens its emotional impact.
“Until the Day Ends” reveals a filmmaker with a distinctive visual eye, particularly when fiction collides with the reality of Serbia’s youth protests. Unfortunately, beautiful cinematography cannot compensate for a story that increasingly loses its sense of purpose.
