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Taking the form of the deathbed confession of Father Fabijan (Kresimir Mikic), we follow his tale from his arrival on a small island off the Dalmatian coast up to his final moments.
Finding himself at something of a loss, as his supposed predecessor Father Jakov is not letting go of his charge easily, and is an extremely popular leader of the children’s choir and an important member of the football team, he looks for a mission of his own.
Being possessed of neither musical or sporting abilities, an idea forms when he finds that the harbour side kiosk does a roaring trade in condoms, and the birth rate on the island is, not unexpectedly, very low. Given the Catholic church’s stance on birth control, Father Fabijan decides that he needs to give the pregnancy statistics a little helping hand by piercing the condoms.
Soon he, Petar the kiosk owner (Niksa Butijer) and chemist Marin (Drazen Kuhn), who starts substituting vitamin pills for birth control pills are responsible for a queue of pregnant brides at Fabijan’s church. Word of this spreads, the island makes national and international news, and tourists flock to bathe in the supposedly fertility inducing waters.
So far, and so funny. But for every action there’s a reaction, and consequences come in to play. Birth control, after all, is used to prevent unwanted, and in many cases financially disastrous, births. Subplots including an abandoned baby and sexual abuse of a minor by a priest move the story from simply amusing comedic incidents to a darker and more realistic tone.
Perhaps drawing an audience in with laughter before presenting them with the hard facts of how these deceptions can change lives for the worst is the best method of keeping their attention, and it certainly seems to work her, due in no small part to a fine performance by Mikic, entirely believable in the role of a man who allows his devotion to the church’s dogma to overrule common sence.
Taking the form of the deathbed confession of Father Fabijan (Kresimir Mikic), we follow his tale from his arrival on a small island off the Dalmatian coast up to his final moments.
Finding himself at something of a loss, as his supposed predecessor Father Jakov is not letting go of his charge easily, and is an extremely popular leader of the children’s choir and an important member of the football team, he looks for a mission of his own.
Being possessed of neither musical or sporting abilities, an idea forms when he finds that the harbour side kiosk does a roaring trade in condoms, and the birth rate on the island is, not unexpectedly, very low. Given the Catholic church’s stance on birth control, Father Fabijan decides that he needs to give the pregnancy statistics a little helping hand by piercing the condoms.
Soon he, Petar the kiosk owner (Niksa Butijer) and chemist Marin (Drazen Kuhn), who starts substituting vitamin pills for birth control pills are responsible for a queue of pregnant brides at Fabijan’s church. Word of this spreads, the island makes national and international news, and tourists flock to bathe in the supposedly fertility inducing waters.
So far, and so funny. But for every action there’s a reaction, and consequences come in to play. Birth control, after all, is used to prevent unwanted, and in many cases financially disastrous, births. Subplots including an abandoned baby and sexual abuse of a minor by a priest move the story from simply amusing comedic incidents to a darker and more realistic tone.
Perhaps drawing an audience in with laughter before presenting them with the hard facts of how these deceptions can change lives for the worst is the best method of keeping their attention, and it certainly seems to work her, due in no small part to a fine performance by Mikic, entirely believable in the role of a man who allows his devotion to the church’s dogma to overrule common sence.
Taking the form of the deathbed confession of Father Fabijan (Kresimir Mikic), we follow his tale from his arrival on a small island off the Dalmatian coast up to his final moments.
Finding himself at something of a loss, as his supposed predecessor Father Jakov is not letting go of his charge easily, and is an extremely popular leader of the children’s choir and an important member of the football team, he looks for a mission of his own.
Being possessed of neither musical or sporting abilities, an idea forms when he finds that the harbour side kiosk does a roaring trade in condoms, and the birth rate on the island is, not unexpectedly, very low. Given the Catholic church’s stance on birth control, Father Fabijan decides that he needs to give the pregnancy statistics a little helping hand by piercing the condoms.
Soon he, Petar the kiosk owner (Niksa Butijer) and chemist Marin (Drazen Kuhn), who starts substituting vitamin pills for birth control pills are responsible for a queue of pregnant brides at Fabijan’s church. Word of this spreads, the island makes national and international news, and tourists flock to bathe in the supposedly fertility inducing waters.
So far, and so funny. But for every action there’s a reaction, and consequences come in to play. Birth control, after all, is used to prevent unwanted, and in many cases financially disastrous, births. Subplots including an abandoned baby and sexual abuse of a minor by a priest move the story from simply amusing comedic incidents to a darker and more realistic tone.
Perhaps drawing an audience in with laughter before presenting them with the hard facts of how these deceptions can change lives for the worst is the best method of keeping their attention, and it certainly seems to work her, due in no small part to a fine performance by Mikic, entirely believable in the role of a man who allows his devotion to the church’s dogma to overrule common sense.
Jim Welsh
Radio Summerhall Arts 