Tears for Sale

Despite a lot of hype, Charleston & Vendetta's reviews in the Serbian media were a mixed bag.

Web magazine Popboks called it a cross between an A movie and a B movie. According to their reviewer Vladislava Vojnović, despite being clearly conceived as an A movie "with production whose plenitude is on full display—from glamorous make-up, costume design, and cinematography over to impeccable picture & sound quality and last but not least Sonja Kolačarić's fascinating portrayal—Charleston & Vendetta also contains many B movie liabilities like a subpar screenplay with plenty of holes".[5]

In similar vein, Politika's film critic Dubravka Lakić praises the movie's look, but has problems with its screenplay oversights, all the while feeling this "postmodern cheerful fairy tale for adults" is "more of a glamorously packaged oversized trailer than a story-based product with coherent beginning, middle and end".[6]

The review penned by B92's Gavrilo Petrović was more of the same, extolling the film's "magical look that brings certain French blockbusters to mind" with "brilliant photography, grandiose sequences and costumes, opulent cinematography, mostly impeccable editing, and computer generated imagery that stands up to anything seen in other great-looking movies" while criticizing "the way dramaturgy takes a back seat to aggressive spectacle sometime into the film with two initially likeable heroines suddenly turning into detached fashion models while all that is required from the multitude of supporting actresses is to look good in slow-motion".[7]

NIN magazine's Saša Janković was very critical, calling the film "an example of Serbian megalomania" and adding that "its screenplay is incomplete while the direction is at times fairly arbitrary".[8]

On the other hand, the film got its most glowing review from Blic's Milan Vlajčić, who called it "an extraordinary moment for new Serbian film". In between praises for the whole cast, Vlajčić especially notices director and writer Uroš Stojanović, "whose debut showed maturity in stylistic composition of a comedy that contains patterns of quite a few genres—from melodrama to fantasy".[8]

Before general release, the movie premiered at the 2008 Motovun Film Festival on July 28, 2008.[9]

After the screenings held on September 8, 10, and 13, the film, which was shown under the title Tears for Sale, attracted some attention in the English-language media gathered at the festival.

Now magazine gave it a very poor one-star mark, with its reviewer referring to it as "a demented Serbian fantasy". He continued with describing it as "a Serbian version of Amélie, if you think Amélie is a movie about hot ladies with prominent facial features interacting with a series of expensive digital effects" before exclaiming: "I'm tempted to hail this as one of the fest's must-see movies—you really must see it to understand the depths of its batshit craziness".[10]

Todd Brown of showcase.ca and twitchfilm.net, on the other hand, loved it, calling it "a remarkable film on a number of levels that manages what seems like an impossible task: balancing the tragic history of its home nation with a sense of legitimate magic and wonder". He has further praise for director Stojanovic and the "stunning visuals". Finally, he glows about the movie feeling like "a Grimms' fairy tale come to life, a world where magic exists but is also accompanied by darkness, death, sex and more".[11][12]

Movie City News's David Poland penned a generally affirmative review, summing up the movie as "a fairy tale filled with dark jokes, estrogen, sex, and explosions". He further notices the film's style "that reaches beyond Gilliam with a profoundly Eastern European sensibility and a fascinating approach to the idea of the feminine" as well as predicts that with this film Stojanovic has become one of the "next hot candidates for a Hollywood slot".[13]

Very soon after the satisfactory buzz and attention Tears for Sale got at the Toronto International Film Festival, news appeared that the movie would get a theater release in the United States.[14]

The film's promotion in the United States began months earlier in March 2008, without it even being available for viewing in American cinemas or festivals. Its main selling point at that stage was the political upheaval in Serbia at the time with parliamentary elections being held following a government's fall after the independence of Kosovo, all of which led to the Los Angeles Times publishing a large piece about the movie written by its staff writer Tracy Wilkinson.

In June 2008, another American publication took notice. The review in Variety by Alissa Simon also touches on politics as she sees the movie as "a postmodern allegorical tale" which "succeeds in poking fun at various Serbian national myths and symbols with its strong, lusty, independent women, eager-to-fight men and sacrilegious shenanigans in a hearse and among tombstones". Among praises for the visuals and special effects, she admits that the movie "will require careful handling and critical support to reach international audiences".[15]

American audiences had a chance to see the movie on January 27, 2009 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The film also won a general admiration at the Syracuse International Film Festival (Syracuse, New York) on April 28, 2009.

On August 12, 2009, the movie had its theatrical release in France. It was shown with the name Charleston et Vendette, under the slogan "La chasse a l’homme est ouverte!" (The hunt for men has begun!).[16]

The reviews in the French press were somewhat reserved.[17] Le Monde praised "the spellbinding atmosphere with flights of poetry, boisterous jubilation, and Yugoslav frenzy that brings the fever of Emir Kusturica to mind", but has issues with the "chaotic screenplay arcs drawn from Serbian folklore, culture, and history with codes that escape us".[18]

As of September 2008, Serbia is the only country where Tears for Sale has gone into general theater release.

Despite the lukewarm reviews, Serbian audiences have responded to the movie in large numbers. Shown on twenty screens during its first weekend in general release (February 1–3, 2008), Charleston & Vendetta took in a gross amount of US$80,699.[19] Its second weekend (February 8–10, also on twenty screens) in Serbian theaters was even more successful, with US$92,377 earned.[19] During the calendar year 2008, Tears for Sale was the most watched movie in Serbian cinemas with a total gross of US$634,620.[20]

In France, the movie had very modest box-office take of US$19,314 during its short theatrical run.[21]