The Constitution (2016) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Vjekoslav initially refuses and expresses open disdain for Serbs during their first tense session, even making offensive comments about Ante's ethnic background. However, Maja insists they continue meeting and reveals personal truths, her own miscarriage and Ante's wartime service, to humanize them. Vjekoslav's willingness to help ultimately stems from Maja's persistence and his own growing vulnerability after being attacked. As they spend more time together, Vjekoslav begins to see Ante as an individual rather than a symbol of his traumatic past.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Maja tells Vjekoslav that "love doesn't pick and choose," planting the seed for his eventual openness.

• vjekoslav
• ante
• citizenship exam
• nationalism
• serbs
• reconciliation

Vjekoslav's closet contains two competing aspects of his identity: his mother's clothes representing his true self and feminine expression, and his father's Ustasha uniform representing Croatian nationalist heritage. By showing these items, he reveals the contradictions within himself, a gay man who embraces cross-dressing yet harbors nationalist beliefs. He uses the story of the Sacred Band of Thebes, an ancient unit of male lovers, to explain unconventional courage, subtly acknowledging his own identity while grappling with his political convictions.

Foreshadowing: This scene establishes the internal conflict that later drives his extreme nationalist statements.

• closet
• ustashe uniform
• mother
• identity
• nationalism
• cross-dressing

Vjekoslav reveals to Ante and Maja that he had planned to commit suicide once his father died because he has already lost the person he loved most, his partner Bobo, who died by suicide a year earlier after being diagnosed with cancer. When his father dies, Vjekoslav feels that all his remaining connections to life have ended. He goes to the bench where Bobo shot himself, unable to bear the loneliness. However, when Ante and Maja arrive and ask him to be their child's godfather, he chooses to live, accepting this new form of family.

Foreshadowing: Vjekoslav's earlier confession about Bobo's death and his grief signals his fragile mental state.

• suicide
• bob
• father death
• bench
• grief
• loss

The dog poisoner is a mysterious figure who wanders the streets of Zagreb with poison, killing dogs throughout the city. Ante spots the poisoner through a cafe window but fails to catch him. The subplot runs parallel to the main narrative, symbolizing the persistent underlying threat of hatred and violence in society. Even as the main characters reconcile and form bonds, the poisoner's final appearance at the end reminds viewers that prejudice and danger still lurk in ordinary places, creating a bittersweet tone.

Foreshadowing: The poisoner is introduced early and recurs periodically, maintaining a low-level tension throughout the film.

• dog poisoner
• threat
• danger
• symbolism
• city
• prejudice

Despite his dyslexia making the studying difficult, Ante improves through consistent sessions with Vjekoslav. Vjekoslav teaches him a memorization technique that helps him retain the material for the exam. With this targeted help and his own determination, Ante successfully passes the citizenship test, which is significant because it allows him to maintain his position as a police officer in Croatia and secure his family's future. This academic achievement becomes a turning point in building trust between the two men.

Foreshadowing: The tension from their early confrontations makes their later cooperation more meaningful.

• ante
• citizenship exam
• dyslexia
• pass
• police
• croatia

Maja and Ante pursue adoption after experiencing a miscarriage that left them unable to have children naturally. The process involves interviews with social workers to obtain an official adoption license. Their perseverance, combined with the support and testimony of Vjekoslav, who becomes involved as a potential godfather figure, helps their application succeed. The approval represents hope for a new family structure and marks a milestone in their relationship with Vjekoslav.

Foreshadowing: Maja mentions her miscarriage early in the film, establishing her deep desire for motherhood.

• adoption
• license
• miscarriage
• family
• parents
• social services

Bobo was Vjekoslav's long-time male lover who died by suicide one year before the film's events, after being diagnosed with cancer. Vjekoslav carries this profound grief throughout the film, drinking heavily and reminiscing about their relationship. His grief explains his emotional isolation, his reluctance to form new connections, and ultimately his suicidal ideation after his father's death. When he opens up about Bobo to Ante and Maja, it marks a crucial moment of vulnerability that helps them understand his pain.

Foreshadowing: The bench where Bobo shot himself becomes significant when Vjekoslav goes there after his father's death.

• bobo
• lover
• cancer
• suicide
• grief
• memory

Vjekoslav's nationalism stems from a traumatic childhood memory: Serbian police officers humiliated him and his mother while they were visiting his jailed father during the Yugoslav Wars. This experience created deep-seated hatred toward Serbs and a fierce desire for a Croatian nation free of non-Croats and homosexuals, though he himself belongs to both groups he despises. His contradictory beliefs represent the complexity of identity: he is a victim of the very nationalism he espouses, and his closet full of his mother's clothes and his father's Ustasha uniform symbolizes this internal conflict.

Foreshadowing: This childhood trauma is revealed during a heated exchange when Ante challenges Vjekoslav's hatred.

• nationalism
• gay
• identity
• trauma
• serbian police
• contradiction

After preventing Vjekoslav's suicide on the bench, Ante and Maja ask him to be the godfather of their future child. This invitation represents a profound act of forgiveness and acceptance, transforming their relationship from hostile neighbors to chosen family. Vjekoslav, who has been isolated and defined by loss and prejudice, is offered a new role and purpose. Maja and Ante promise to name the child after him, further cementing this bond. The gesture symbolizes the film's theme that shared humanity can bridge even the deepest divisions.

Foreshadowing: The adoption process had already entangled Vjekoslav in their lives as a potential godfather figure.

• godfather
• family
• adoption
• reconciliation
• hope
• resolution

After Vjekoslav is beaten by hooligans while dressed as a woman, he is taken to the hospital where neighbor Maja Samardžić tends to him. Despite their previous strained relationship, she shows him compassion and practical help, seeing past his injuries to the person beneath. This act of kindness is the first bridge between them and establishes Maja as the catalyst who will eventually bring all three characters together. Her refusal to accept payment and her offer to help care for him and his father launches the entire chain of events.

Foreshadowing: This initial mercy sets the pattern for Maja's role as the peacemaker throughout the film.

• hospital
• maja
• vjekoslav
• attack
• nurse
• compassion