Sarajevo 2024 review: Cent’anni (Maja Doroteja Prelog)

“An intense but fascinating work of non-fiction storytelling that paints a vibrant portrait of contemporary life as seen through the eyes of two very complex individuals who find themselves in stark opposition more often than not.”

Nothing gives you the motivation to change the course of your life more than recovering from a near-fatal illness, which is why we find that some of the most motivational stories of overcoming the odds come from those who have survived diseases that threatened to cut their lives short. In her beautiful and intricately woven documentary Cent’anni, Maja Doroteja Prelog tells a very personal story about her partner, Blaz, who overcame a severe battle with leukemia, which he fought for years – and after going into remission decided that he was going to make the most of his life by striving for the “cent’anni”, or his “hundredth year”. He hoped to achieve it by putting his body through rigorous physical training to get it to the peak of its potential, undergoing a grueling fitness journey that he hoped would allow him to live to reach his one-hundredth birthday. An ambitious endeavour, but one that he insisted on pursuing regardless of the cost. This film started as his idea, based on his desire to have the journey documented, and choosing the person closest to him to wield the camera as she had access to his most intimate and personal moments and would thus be able to provide a far more nuanced portrait of his journey. However, the final product ends up being far more complex than simply the motivational documentary about a man striving to achieve a very audacious goal, and instead grows into something quite different, both in terms of content and what the director uses her camera to represent. This leads to quite an intense but fascinating work of non-fiction storytelling that paints a vibrant portrait of contemporary life as seen through the eyes of two very complex individuals who find themselves in stark opposition more often than not.

There are essentially two narrative strands that underpin Cent’anni and inform it in terms of structure and what the director intends to portray. At its foundation, the film centers on Blaz as he trains for his own personal version of the Giro d’Italia, in which he will cycle through various parts of the country in an effort to prove that he has not only fully recovered from his illness, but that he is at the height of his physical fitness. From this straightforward premise Prelog constructs a film that is equally about the aftermath of a battle with disease and the toll such a battle can have on both a patient and their loved ones, and a story of a relationship that is undergoing many changes alongside these new developments. It is profoundly difficult to make a film that is simultaneously about celebrating survival in one moment and observing the gradual dismantling of a long-term relationship in another, or at least portraying the severe challenges the couple faces as a result of the rising tensions that emerge during this period. The two themes almost seem to be working in opposition to one another, since the former is about overcoming adversity and defeating the odds, whereas the latter is about another set of challenges, where they stand at the threshold of these obstacles rather than celebrating their completion. Prelog intentionally doesn’t provide much context as to where the relationship stands at the end of the film, outside of the very clear fact that she and Blaz love one another and that their tensions come from a place of sincere passion, but her efforts to weave these two wildly disparate narrative threads together lead to quite a bold examination of a relationship in flux.

Much of the ingenuity in Cent’anni comes from the form – the concepts are intriguing, but they are only strengthened by the way they manifest on screen, and the director ensures that she is consistent with how she approaches the sometimes challenging ideas. The film is a very personal text that she crafts by cobbling together different kinds of footage, including home movies from their younger years (particularly childhood videos of the young Blaz), as well as new material recorded specifically for this film. That material mainly consists of Blaz training for his ambitious endeavour, intercut with brief interludes in which Prelog offers her own reflections, capturing momentary glimpses into their lives behind the excitement. These are usually emotionally charged confrontations and moments of quiet reflection in which she begins to wonder whether they are on the right path forward, or how they are going to navigate the challenges that lie ahead if they continue on this journey together. It is impossible not to notice the developing rift in their relationship, and the audience is put in an awkward position as we become voyeurs into these deeply personal moments in their lives – but Prelog is extraordinarily open in exploring this subject. She allows us into her relationship through providing raw, candid footage taken from both the past and present, pieced together to create a vibrant portrait of their day-to-day life. In the process it showcases a series of challenges that both the director and her partner have to endure, creating an uncomfortable but profoundly effective work of documentary filmmaking. Cent’anni is perhaps most appropriately described as less of a documentary and more of a visual scrapbook of a relationship undergoing many changes. For every step forward they take in Blaz’s journey towards recovering and becoming stronger, their personal life seems to take two steps backwards, with their bickering eventually festering into outright hostility. Yet, their love for one another is still very clear, which is why the idea that this film is a document of a relationship in decline isn’t entirely accurate. Prelog doesn’t create this film as a way to capture the final vestiges of a partnership that she feels is on its last legs, but rather to highlight the beautiful moments that exist in between. They are meaningful flashes of hope and encouragement in which their love for one another is still present, and where their connection is still shown to be ironclad even if they continue to face many obstacles. The film is very careful not to be manipulative as far as the subject matter is concerned, straddling the line between devastating and motivating and never avoiding the more brutal conversations, which are just as integral to the overall identity of the film as the more tender moments. Some of the imagery may not be entirely subtle (such as a climactic confrontation being accompanied by footage of a literal volcanic eruption), but the metaphors are still relevant to the themes that persist throughout the film. It proves to be a complex study of a relationship between two individuals navigating uncharted territory and doing their best to overcome certain obstacles to become a stronger couple, an endeavour that could rival the feat Blaz sets out to accomplish, making the overarching metaphor perhaps the most appropriate for this film as a whole.