The Shutka Book of Records

There is no place like Shutka. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of Macedonia, it is a town full of champions. In Shutka, according to Aleksandar Manic's peculiar and funny documentary, everything is a competition; and there is always a winner, even if the decision is disputed. There's the man with the most money, the woman with the strongest opinions, the guy with the best suits, the greatest lovers, the most powerful music producer, the best bed maker for circumcisions, the best trainer of ganders and the best trainer of pigeons, to name a few. At one point, a townsperson says, “Anyone can make a child, but not just anyone can make a champion pigeon.” Shutka seems to be without much local economy or municipalities. But there's also no trace of hardship. Sure, the people are poor, but they appear happy. Toward the end of the film, one character explains that everyone in Shutka is on welfare, but the town always finds money for weddings and circumcisions. In a sense, Manic's film could be seen as a lesson in making the most of what you've got. It's difficult at times not to question the film's veracity—is there really an annual competition to determine who in Shutka has the most, best and oldest cassette tape collection? But that ultimately seems unimportant (and all available evidence suggests that Shutka is real). What matters is the town's passion and that everyone on screen is just so fully alive.