Housekeeping for Beginners

The dysfunctional and sometimes unstable, more often affecting portrait of a makeshift Macedonian family is evoked in a very thoughtful matter in Housekeeping for Beginners. The absorbing third feature by Macedonian Australian filmmaker Goran Stolevski (Of an Age, You Won’t Be Alone) continues to deliver more poignancy with his rich artistry after making waves with his romantic drama Of an Age. We see Stolevski return to familiar territory with his cinema verité visual style and deep empathy, as he tabulates the uncertainty of a household just outside Skopje over the course of a year.

The number of emotional payoffs and observational drama makes for a rewarding journey that certainly oscillates with rich sincerity and a personal vision. Although there are a lot of relationship dynamics going on and it takes a while to piece together the relationships of each character in the household, resulting in some frustrations in the plotting at first, but everything ends up being established, and the technically impressive film carries on successfully as a poetic slice-of-life family drama that avoids being cloying as it is always moving and kindhearted.

Courtesy Focus Features

The film starts with an ensemble, introduced by the main character, Dita (Anamaria Marinca), a nurse and mother who is very compassionate and puts her family and loved ones first. She helps raise two children: teenager Vanesa (Mia Mustafi) and little 5-year-old Mia (Dzada Selim). who are the daughters of her lover, Sauda (Alina Serban). They open their doors to their longtime Albanian gay friend Toni (Vladimir Tintor) and his younger boyfriend Ali (Samson Selim), along with a few other exiles who aren’t accepted by their family.

Sauda ends up having health complications, one that puts her life into jeopardy and Sauda and Dita both being to think of Vanesa and Mia’s future. Sauda convinces Dita to legally adopt her daughters due to their Albanian ethnicity that is discriminated in North Macedonia. Sauda convinces Dita that if she passes away, that Toni also becomes the father guardian because his last name will protect Mia from being discriminated as she gets older. As the story progresses, we Dita and Toni attempting their best being a couple. They end up getting married at a courthouse, which Vanesa and Ali uncontrollably giggle about it.

They find themselves surprising many old friends about their marriage, and they talk with Mia’s principal of her school and explain to her the situation, and Dita and Toni bicker at each other like any other married couple. During a very amusing scene, Dita catches Vanesa sexting older boys on her cellphone and threatens to take her phone away, which leads to Vanesas abruptly calling the police and making a report that she’s held hostage by a “commune of gays.” As the situation cools down, Dita and Toni find themselves having to quickly put on elegant clothes to prove to the police they are just “an ordinary couple.”

Courtesy Focus Features

Stolevski continues to establish his skill in writing well-developed and refined characters with naturalistic actors, as well as his ability to bring in a realism that also feels woozy while observing the challenges of working-class lifestyles. As it is, there is an unwanted but inevitable drudgery to life that we all face. All of the characters face some type of challenge, without Stolevski ever making the material feel manipulative. There are also varying degrees of relationship dynamics between many of the characters that never feel overstuffed. This is part of the superbly scripted dramatic moments that are pulled off by its impressive cast. It never feels overly verbalized either, as so much of it offers beautiful stretches of silence from cinematographer Naum Doksevski with a beautifully dazed score by Alen Sinkauz and Nenad Sinkauz. Both Dita and Toni argue as if they are married, which brings a lot of confusion for young Mia, but even at age five, she knows the care Dita, Ali, and Toni give her is pure love.

In addition to the makeshift relationship between Dita and Toni, Selim is given a lot of outstanding moments, as is Ali. He gets very attached to Vanesa and Mia, almost like a big brother or uncle to the daughters. He brings great joy and warmth to Mia, especially as things burst into chaos, and he always looks out for the child’s interest first over his own. Meanwhile, Toni shows a vulnerable side as he begins to feel insecure and feels his romance with Ali fading away.

Courtesy Focus Features

In many aspects, Goran Stolevski’s approach feels very much in the vein of Mike Leigh’s grim family dramas like Secrets & Lies, All or Nothing, and Another Year. Like Leigh, the script feels very naturalistic, and the narrative feels loose, along with a visual style that consists of shaky camerawork, close-ups, quick cuts, and insert shots that add to the documentary realism of the film. Like Leigh, the emotions are raw, but Stolevski keeps you involved with so many somber scenes that are undeniably affecting. Three features in, and Stolevski is proving to be a grounded artist, one that tells exquisite stories and who, I hope, keeps capturing these personal visions on film.

HOUSEKEEPING FOR BEGINNERS is now playing in limited theaters.