In Croatian with English subtitles.

Croatia marks its first time participating in the European Union Film Festival with Night Boats (Noćni brodovi), a romantic road-movie with an elderly twist.

Helena (Ana Karić) meets the sympathetic Jakov (Radko Polič), a former jazz saxaphonist, at a mundane care home where the residents while their days away arguing over petty matters or gossiping. A spark lights between Helena and Jakov, but Helena remains reluctant to give in to her feelings of attraction, and so a traditional demure courtship begins.

With clandestine meetings to avoid the prying eyes of their fellow residents, the pair act like secret teenage lovers, luring each other out at night with flashlight signals in their windows. To further that impression, the two "elope" one night for a trip to the seaside.

Their journey is far from the idyllic escapade they expected, as they left with limited funds and encounter a number of different characters and problems, including a homeless youth and car problems, along the way.

The low-key adventure is so gently paced that it has a tendency to lose momentum. The examples of films like Sarah Polley's Away From Her and Michael Haneke's Amour demonstrate how sensitive pacing can balance elderly protagonists and audience interest without becoming dull. Regardless, Helena and Jakov develop a quiet, tender chemistry that manages to sustain interest. But most of all, the universal theme of escape from the restrictions of social conventions in pursuit of dreams is one that everyone, regardless of culture or age, can relate to.

Night Boats (Noćni brodovi) screens at the European Union Film Festival on Monday (November 25) at 6:30 p.m. at the Cinematheque.