For a little while now, everyfilm has had Macedonian following.
I can tell this by looking at the Google stats and for a couple of months last year Macedonia was third in the viewing figures.
I have no idea why but it will be interesting to see the reaction now I'm actually blogging on a film from the former Yugoslav republic.
Milcho Manchevski's Mothers certainly gives a warts and all view of the country, looking deeply into the psyche of the country's people.
But, while it is enlightening, it is a strange piece of work.
Mothers is split into three: two acted stories and then one documentary piece.
The first 15-minute episode surrounds two young girls who make up a story to the police about confrontation with a flasher.
The second is a more extended story about a film crew who want to record the lives of country folk and come across a village which is deserted except for an elderly brother and sister who haven't spoken to each other in years.
And then, for pretty much an hour, Mothers moves on to the true life story about serial murders which gained worldwide infamy because the man arrested for them was the crime reporter at the local paper.
Vlado Taneski had actually been writing articles about the murders he was later charged with.
In isolation, all three elements of Mothers work. The first, as a short story, the second, as an exploration of relationships and the third, because it gives an insight into a story that most audiences outside of Macedonia will have long since forgotten or never heard of in the first place.
In the latter there are interviews with many people connected with the case, for Taneski's colleagues and family to the victims' families.
However, what I could not easily come to terms with was why the three had been put together.
Manchevski says all three stories are true and that his film is about the nature of the truth.
But I couldn't help feeling, on seeing an interview with him afterwards, that its quest for a deep meaning led it to being a bit disjointed and a little bit of a sense that it had been put together for philosphy students..
That said, I learned much about Macedonia and its people and in the first two episodes there are two or three cracking performances.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: A couple of scenes.
Overall rating: 6/10
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