THE CINEMA
OF THE BALKANS |
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The latest in the
24 Frames series, The Cinema of the Balkans contains 24 essays,
each on an individual, select film from the Balkan region (former
Yugoslavia – Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia
and Slovenia; Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Albania). The collection
highlights some of the most important films that represent the
rich and diverse culture of the Balkans and reveals the stylistic
and thematic affinities that characterize the cinemas of a region
that is often perceived as a disconnected cultural space. Some
of the selected films include: Stella (Greece, 1955), The
Four Seasons of the Law (Greece, 1999), Goat’s Horn (Bulgaria,
1972), When I am Dead and Pale (Yugoslavia/Serbia, 1969), The
Red Horse (Yugoslavia/Macedonia, 1984), Stone Wedding (Romania, 1971),
Walter Defends Sarajevo (Yugoslavia/Bosnia, 1972). July 2006 chapter samples introduction by Dina Iordanova reviews 'When faced today with the international success of the ‘colonial wisdom’ of Emir Kusturcia, who cannibalised Yugoslav film tradition by presenting glossy pseudo-folkloric images and loose narratives of the central Balkans, funded generously by Slobodan Milosevic, one cannot but despair at the Western and European lack of serious film culture and taste – but also knowledge – when it comes to small cinema traditions, writes Svetlana Slapsak (p. 154) in her chapter on Splav Meduse (The Raft of Medusa, 1980) and her lament might serve as a rallying cry not only for this absorbing anthology edited by Dina Iordanova but also for Wallflower’s ground-breaking 24 frames series, the title drawn on the one hand from the number of frames exposed per second in the movie camera and by extension to the numbers of chapters per volume, each chapter dedicated to the detailed analysis of one film in its authorial, cultural and political context. The ‘Kusturica complaint’, heard today from struggling filmmakers from all parts of the former Yugoslavia, is echoed later in this book by the Greek director Pantelis Voulgaris (p. 223), speaking of the long shadow cast by Theo Angelopoulos. The tyranny of international expectation triggered by the overwhelming success of one outstanding figure from any given country, usually on the film festival circuit, inhibits alternative versions of the same reality from equally talented compatriots who may not be admitted or recognized for at least a generation. This book goes some way to rectifying this imbalance, and Iordanova is to be commended for omitting not only the titans mentioned but also her preface-writer, Dusan Makavejev (arguably greater than either), in favour of lesser known but possibly more representative voices, a decision which – apart from educating a Western readership who may never have the chance to see the films under discussion – in itself contributes to the ‘de–Balkanisation’ of a much neglected region, ‘ connecting the disconnected space’ as she eloquently pleads in her introduction (p. 1). South-East Europe has been ostracized from the continental mainstream for generations, not least in its film culture, and the paradoxical revelation contained in this thoughtful collection of essays is that its film culture has thrived despite – one almost wishes to say because of – the historical calamities to which it has been exposed, including war (often civil war), deportation, tyranny, invasion, genocide, collaboration and revenge, social deviance and alienation, which overwhelmingly provide the chosen films’ subject matter whether historical or contemporary. Choosing 24 representative films from a region that defies the title was a challenge the editor describes with admirable candour, and her list of nearly 50 ‘also-rans’ is as revealing as her ultimate inclusions, which convince not so much through their individual merit, however persuasive, as through their strategic placement in the emergence of a film tradition, through the influences they absorbed and bequeathed. Almost all the contributors are regionally connected in some way and bring a passionate insight to the role played in the filmmaking process by industrial and biographical factors...leaving the reader convinced that history can indeed be recounted through, as well as by, film... the sharpness of vision and the insider knowledge conveyed...lift this book (and the series) from an academic exercise to the realm of investigative history accessible to a wide readership, and extended in this case to a proactive championing of Balkan unity, which will chime with recent developments in co-production across the region. It is refreshing to read the names of cinematographers, screenplay writers and other talent as co-authors beside the director, and the vital role of casting is better acknowledged than in many similar studies. The absence of any woman director (apologized for by the editor; p. 4) is compensated by some telling assessments of the female role in many of the films, and the prevalence of the prostitute, the vengeful angel or the suffering sinner does little to correct the region’s fiercely male bias... The hidden question Iordanova hints at but must leave unanswered, is whether the increased access to international markets through co-production, particularly with Western Europe, will dilute the extraordinary vigour of the Balkan film voice, which seems to have emerged from its historical vicissitudes. A second volume on more recent output from the region would encourage and fortify its current generation of filmmakers as well as bringing the reader up to date.' Gareth Jones, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, June 2007 'A very precious resource. Twenty-four surprising films, brought
on stage, shown off and discussed with gusto. Together they sketch
what the volume's editor aptly describes as a mutual history and
geography... if it didn't exist before, this anthology produces
Balkan Cinema.' 'An exciting and eclectic cross-section of twenty-four films from
the Balkans that open our eyes to the rich diversity of the cinemas
of these countries, and which deserve attention in the rest of the
world.' books of related interest
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