VOLIM TE is mediocrity in loud, jarring tones; a bizarre hodgepodge of painfully irrelevant scenes, preening narcissism, and self-righteousness so over-abound that I never decided who I hated the most. Every single character is a victim and hence, unsympathetic; more so because no one has anything else going for them. We have HIV-positive young men from a wealthy family, drug addicts, gays and skin-heads, whores and wanton young people and all of them inhabit a Zagreb that is alarmingly closed and narrow. People are still dying of AIDS, of course, but the political activism surrounding the disease long ago faded from the headlines, largely because the virus now seems more preoccupied with Africa than film directors and fashion designers. Years ago, it was almost hip to be afflicted with the disease (or at least wear a ribbon in recognition of its impact on the Hollywood community); now it's simply something to die from, and hell, we have the bird flu to keep us up nights. My problem here, of course, is not homosexuality or even the politicization of AIDS, but rather the sort of arrogance that refuses to take responsibility and meet the other side half way in finding a solution. But like the characters in "Volim Te", they moped around feeling sorry for themselves and wondered why the world stopped paying attention. AIDS is a horrible affliction, but it's far worse for the body when coupled with stupefying boredom.
