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It's Hard to Be Nice (Teško je biti fin)

It's Hard to Be Nice (Teško je biti fin)

Movie · 2007 · 10 people

Srđan Vuletić directed Teško je biti fin (It's Hard to Be Nice), a 2007 drama co-produced by Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Kingdom. Shot in Bosnian and running about 102 minutes, it is Vuletić's second feature. It opened that year's 13th Sarajevo Film Festival and was then sent as Bosnia and Herzegovina's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 80th Academy Awards, though it did not reach the shortlist.

The story unfolds in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina, where many people have had to shape their own destinies. Fudo, a Sarajevo taxi driver living with his wife and newborn baby, is still tied to local and regional mafia. His wife presses him to change. He commits to becoming an honest family man devoted to goodness and peace, but the events that follow put both his family and his new life to a severe test.

Vuletić wrote the screenplay with Miroslav Mandić. The cast includes Emir Hadžihafizbegović, Izudin Bajrović, Saša Petrović, Zana Marjanović, Daria Lorenci, Senad Bašić and Jasna Žalica.

DirectorSrđan Vuletić

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Emir Hadžihafizbegović Emir Hadžihafizbegović Actor · 65 years old Sejo Izudin Bajrović Izudin Bajrović Actor · 63 years old Doctor Saša Petrović Zana Marjanović Daria Lorenci Senad Bašić Jasna Žalica Jasna Beri Actor · 72 years old Mother-in-law Miraj Grbić Miraj Grbić Actor · 50 years old Receptionist Aleksandar Seksan Aleksandar Seksan Actor · 58 years old Mrki

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Through different eyes

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Through the daily life of a taxi driver, the film portrays a time in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina when people had to rebuild their own destinies. Fudo's effort to cut his ties to the mafia and become an honest family man is far more than a story of personal change: it asks what it costs to stay honest in a society where institutions are weak and informal networks strong. Set in motion by his wife's insistence, the transformation also reflects a world in which family is seen as a moral anchor. Being chosen to open the Sarajevo Film Festival suggests that what the film says to its own society resonated at home too.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Srđan Vuletić's second feature rests on a solid dramatic premise: a man who decides to be good must face what that decision costs. The irony of the title sets the film's tone as well: it is less about evil than about how hard goodness is. The script by Vuletić and Miroslav Mandić spreads Fudo's change across a process of trials rather than a single turning point; that approach makes the character feel genuine, but it can also bring a sense that the pace slackens in the middle. A cast that includes Emir Hadžihafizbegović strengthens the film's local texture. It may not have made the Academy Awards shortlist, but it deserves attentive viewing.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Mafia, a taxi driver, a man trying to escape his past: on paper, that's thriller material. But this isn't an action film, it's a drama. What really matters is Fudo's inner conflict and his family. The pace is slow, and anyone expecting chases will be let down. Still, the sense that the past won't let go manages to build a quiet kind of tension.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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