Dečka is a female engineering student, not so much because of a genuine interest in technology as because of her desire to attend what is considered a “man’s” faculty. At the age of twenty-two, she is still a virgin, and she explains her inability to establish sexual relationships and stable romantic connections by blaming her large nose, her “terrible” appearance, her unattractive legs, and other perceived physical flaws. She is constantly dressed in jeans, and because of her tomboyish appearance she has earned the nickname Dečka (“The Boy”). It is clear that she is going through a difficult and critical period in her life.
Her father, an army major, works in another city and rarely sees her. Her mother died when she was very young, leaving her largely to fend for herself. Her friend Neša dates other girls, yet he is also attracted to Dečka despite all her insecurities. Shortly before leaving on a student excursion, Dečka suddenly changes her plans and secretly undergoes plastic surgery, hoping it will solve all of her problems.
When Šećerna vodica (Sugar Water) went into production, very few producers truly believed in the project. The screenplay, written by Leon Kovke, whose only previous screenwriting credit had been the screenplay for the well-made but underrated crime film Theatre Connection (Pozorišna veza, 1980), was prepared for production by director Svetislav Bata Prelić.
The production of Sugar Water was marked by numerous difficulties, largely because of its limited budget and a change of cinematographer during filming. The completed film was ultimately photographed by Branko Perak, best known for his work on Dušan Makavejev’s films from the late 1960s. Once the film was completed and the final print prepared, few expected Sugar Water to become a commercial success.
The first surprise came when the film was selected for the official competition of the Pula Film Festival, replacing several highly favored titles, including Goran Paskaljević’s The Elusive Summer of ’68. The greatest success, however, was the film’s enthusiastic reception by audiences in the Pula Arena. Critics were generally favorable, with only occasional criticism directed at its modest production values. The festival jury awarded Sonja Savić the prize for Best Actress. In Belgrade cinemas, the film became a box-office hit, attracting approximately 150,000 viewers, and it was also warmly received by audiences throughout the country.
The film’s popularity has largely been attributed to its well-crafted screenplay, which follows the familiar transformation of an “ugly duckling” into an attractive young woman in the manner of an unpretentious Hollywood film. Such straightforward narrative arcs were relatively uncommon in Yugoslav cinema, where many films of the period placed less emphasis on conventional storytelling.
With Šećerna vodica, Sonja Savić firmly established herself as the undisputed leading lady of Yugoslav cinema.
