The Constitution (2016) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A wounded nationalist and his skeptical neighbor overcome inherited hatred through care, confession, and the promise of chosen family.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

Wounds Across the Hall

Vjekoslav is assaulted and encounters Maja at the hospital. After returning home injured, he accepts Maja's practical help and agrees to assist with citizenship-exam preparation.

Key Events

• Shared Apartment Building — Vjekoslav and Maja live in the same building while remaining wary of one another. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Downtown Zagreb apartment building
• Nighttime Assault — Vjekoslav is beaten by hooligans while walking dressed as a woman. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj Location: A Zagreb street
• Hospital Encounter — After the assault, Vjekoslav is taken to hospital and accidentally encounters his neighbor Maja. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Hospital
• Offer of Household Help — Maja volunteers to help Vjekoslav recover and care for his father. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Vjekoslav's apartment
• Study Arrangement — Maja asks Vjekoslav to help with citizenship-exam preparation, and he agrees. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Vjekoslav's apartment
• First Study Conflict — During the first study session, Vjekoslav expresses hostility toward Serbs and the meeting ends in offense. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj Location: Vjekoslav's apartment

Identity Under Examination

Maja and Vjekoslav discuss love, ethnicity, nationalism, sexuality, and family history. Their conversations expose the ideological divisions that prevent trust.

Key Events

• First Study Conflict — During the first study session, Vjekoslav expresses hostility toward Serbs and the meeting ends in offense. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj Location: Vjekoslav's apartment
• Love Defies Categories — Maja explains that love does not choose according to ethnic background. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Hospital
• Adoption Effort — Maja pursues an adoption license as part of her effort to build a family. Characters: Maja Samardžić Location: Social services office
• The Ustasha Uniform — Vjekoslav shows Maja his clothing collection, including his father's uniform, prompting a discussion of identity. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Vjekoslav's apartment
• Sacred Band Anecdote — Vjekoslav explains how he reconciles his nationalism and homosexuality through an anecdote about the Sacred Band of Thebes. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Vjekoslav's apartment

Hatred and Disclosure

The study conflict becomes more severe as Vjekoslav repeats his hostile beliefs and recalls childhood trauma. Maja's challenge forces him to disclose his grief and suicide plan.

Key Events

• Second Study Rejection — A second study meeting collapses after Vjekoslav rejects a challenge to his anti-Serb beliefs. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj Location: Vjekoslav's apartment
• Childhood Trauma Revealed — Vjekoslav recalls a humiliating childhood incident involving his mother and Serbian police officers. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Vjekoslav's apartment
• Suicide Plan Disclosed — Vjekoslav tells Maja about his deceased lover and says he plans to die after his father dies. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Vjekoslav's apartment
• Search for Attackers — Despite his anger, Vjekoslav's neighbor begins a one-man effort to locate the attackers. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj Location: Zagreb streets

Trust Through Small Acts

Vjekoslav and Maja grow closer through shared self-expression and honest conversation. His practical assistance and public connections help improve the situation around the exam and the assault.

Key Events

• Search for Attackers — Despite his anger, Vjekoslav's neighbor begins a one-man effort to locate the attackers. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj Location: Zagreb streets
• Shared Self Expression — Maja and Vjekoslav spend time together as she does his makeup and he dresses up. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Vjekoslav's apartment
• Study Method Shared — Vjekoslav teaches a memory trick that makes the exam material easier to learn. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj Location: Vjekoslav's apartment
• Government Assistance — Vjekoslav uses government connections to help his neighbor after the search for an attacker causes trouble. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj Location: Zagreb
• Student Seeks Advice — A student privately asks Vjekoslav for advice and experience concerning coming out. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj Location: High school

Choosing Life Together

The exam and adoption efforts succeed, but Vjekoslav's father's death activates his suicide plan. Maja finds him, and the invitation to become a godfather gives him a future connection.

Key Events

• Family News Arrives — The exam is passed and Maja receives news that the adoption has been approved. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Zagreb apartment building
• Father Found Dead — Vjekoslav finds his father dead, dresses him in his uniform, and calls a priest. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj Location: Vjekoslav's apartment
• The Suicide Bench — Maja realizes where Vjekoslav has gone and finds him unable to carry out his suicide plan. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: A bench associated with Vjekoslav's deceased lover
• Godfather Invitation — Maja and her husband calm Vjekoslav and invite him to become their child's godfather. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: The bench
• A New Family Promise — Maja and her husband leave for a motorbike trip and say their child will be named after Vjekoslav. Characters: Vjekoslav Kralj, Maja Samardžić Location: Zagreb street
• Poisoner Walks Away — The film ends with the dog poisoner walking down the street. Location: Zagreb street

Story Breakdown

• Divided Neighbors — The apartment building brings people with conflicting identities into unavoidable contact.
  • Shared Zagreb Building — Vjekoslav and Maja live in the same downtown apartment building but initially remain wary.
  • Nighttime Assault — Vjekoslav is beaten while walking dressed as a woman, making his vulnerability impossible to ignore.
• Unexpected Care — Maja's practical assistance creates the first bridge between the neighbors.
  • Hospital Encounter — Vjekoslav and Maja meet after the assault at the hospital.
  • Household Support — Maja volunteers to help Vjekoslav recover and care for his father.
• Constitutional Conflict — Exam preparation becomes a battleground for ethnic prejudice and competing ideas of belonging.
  • Study Arrangement — Maja asks Vjekoslav to provide help with citizenship-exam preparation.
  • Failed Sessions — Vjekoslav's anti-Serb statements and the resulting insults repeatedly end the study meetings.
• Private Histories — Personal objects and memories reveal how identity has been shaped by family, war, and loss.
  • Inherited Uniform — Maja finds the father's Ustasha uniform and questions Vjekoslav's contradictory identity.
  • Traumatic Memory — Vjekoslav recalls humiliation involving his mother and Serbian police officers.
• Grief And Choice — Vjekoslav's hostility is connected to unresolved bereavement and a planned death.
  • Lost Lover — Vjekoslav tells Maja about his long-term lover's cancer diagnosis and suicide.
  • Suicide Plan — He plans to die after his father dies, turning the family crisis into a personal countdown.
• Chosen Family — Maja's friendship and the adoption news give Vjekoslav a meaningful future beyond inherited hatred.
  • Bench Intervention — Maja finds Vjekoslav at the bench and helps him abandon the suicide plan.
  • Godfather Promise — Vjekoslav accepts a place in Maja's future family as the child's godfather.

Directed by

Rajko Grlić

Key Cast

• Nebojša Glogovac — Vjekoslav Kralj
• Dejan Aćimović — Ante Samardžić
• Ksenija Marinković — Maja Samardžić
• Božidar Smiljanić — Hrvoje Kralj
• Mladen Hren — Ivan Stazić