GET THE GRINGO

Pojavio se i duži trejler za novi film Mela Gibsona HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION koji će se na američkom tržištu zvati GET THE GRINGO i na VODu će izaći 1. maja. Ovde možete pročitati sve detalje o načinu distribucije.

KLIP vs VARIETY

Prilično konzervativna publikacja Variety koja je pre svega okrenuta poslovnim aspektima kinematografije objavila je kritiku KLIPA Maje Miloš. Ako imamo u vidu njihove specifične pristupe sagledavanju filma, KLIP im je ostavio snažan utisak.

Posted: Mon., Jan. 30, 2012, 3:18pm PT

Rotterdam

Clip

Klip

(Serbia)

By Jay Weissberg

A Film House Bas Celik production. Produced by Jelena Mitrovic, Srdan Golubovic. Executive producer, Igor Kecman. Directed, written by Maja Milos.

With: Isidora Simijonovic, Vukasin Jasnic, Sanja Mikitisin, Jovo Maksic, Monja Savic, Katarina Pesic, Sonja Janicic, Jovana Stojiljkovic, Vladimir Gvojic, Nikola Dragutinovic, Mihajlo Nikolic.

The one indisputable element of "Clip" is the astonishing, no-holds barred perf of newcomer Isidora Simijonovic, just 14 at the time of shooting. Far more controversial is the graphic nature of Maja Milos' debut feature, depicting the hypersexualized nihilism of Serbian teens. Despite a disclaimer saying none of the plentiful sex scenes were shot with underage actors (which means body doubles worked overtime), there's no getting around the fact that Milos' in-your-face approach raises complex issues the pic seems unable to address satisfactorily. Unavoidable censorship problems will make this largely a fest-only item.

Ethics is a tricky concept when linked to a movie wanting to show a problematic youth culture whose existence is undeniable. However, the explicit nature of "Clip," dealing with teens supposed to be 16, makes the taint of exploitation impossible to fully shake, and questions of the validity of the "female gaze" will only intensify the discussion. Milos is unquestionably making a statement about a certain milieu, one hardly restricted to Serbia, yet runs up against the eternal conundrum of how much is too much.

Remarkably, the pic received government funding and will be released in Serbia, where it's certain to generate a hurricane of controversy. Milos worked intensely not just with her actors, but with their parents as well, to explain her choices and make all feel comfortable with what's onscreen. Yet such reassurances can't be extended to every viewer; the helmer means to make auds uneasy and stimulate discussion, but the artistic filter necessary to turn a copy of reality into a critical engagement with the truth is only intermittently used.

The opening sequence sets the tone, as Jasna (Simijonovic) is filmed on a cell phone by a guy coolly instructing her to sexually proposition the camera. There's no awkwardness here: She loves performing and isn't too upset when the man walks away after she's gone through her act. Throughout "Clip," apparent from its title, is the understanding that for this generation, the filmed image is more intense than the live person in front of the camera. Reinforcing that idea, Milos constantly switches to cell-phone footage or shows teens delightedly watching images of themselves and their friends cavorting in ultra-sexual ways.

They all take their cues from skin pics, imitating the exaggerated gestures and dirty talk and then turning themselves into porn stars. They may throw on a zippered sweatshirt for school, but underneath are clothes that would make the cheapest streetwalker envious. (Kudos to the costume designers, who must have trawled every trashy market in Belgrade.)

Jasna has a family: a father (Jovo Maksic) sick with cancer; an overworked, overstressed mother (Sanja Mikitisin) trying to cope with her husband's illness; and a younger sis. Jasna's behavior could be seen as an inability to deal with her dad's critical condition, but that doesn't account for similar activity by her peers, and so her home life fills in details without acting as explanation -- which may be Milos' point.

Jasna falls hard for 18-year-old Djole (Vukasin Jasnic), who toys with her, never revealing an emotion even during sex. Instead, he humiliates her, and she plays the masochist to the hilt. The final scene is the icing on the cake, but it's unfortunately engorged, finally pushing degradation beyond believability.

Until then it feels frighteningly real and distinctly discomforting. Simijonovic has an electrifying physicality that's shocking for a teen so young -- Lolita is Tuccia the vestal virgin compared with Jasna -- and the actress is searingly intense yet also completely natural in an unsympathetic role. She's well supported in every scene by her peers and the older thesps, especially Mikitisin, whose character could have been yet another ineffectual mom but instead is given more complex emotions to work with.

Notwithstanding the amount of sex and nudity (including prosthetics) onscreen, visuals are designed to be anti-erotic. Even so, given the age of the performers, it's impossible to shake off questions of exploitation. Does it make it OK since Milos is a woman? How is the gendered gaze affected by a male d.p.? "Clip" blows open a Pandora's box, but chooses not to deal with those pesky issues flying about.

Camera (color, DV), Vladimir Simic; editor, Stevan Filipovic; production designer, Zorana Petrov; costume designers, Senka Kljakic, Marijana Radovic, Monika Ratkovic; sound (Dolby Digital), Zoran Maksimovic, Ognjen Popic. Reviewed at Rotterdam Film Festival (competing), Jan. 27, 2012. Running time: 102 MIN.

TURSKE SERIJE

Dimitrije je danas objavio kolumnu o turskim serijama u City Magazineu čije online izdanje možete čitati ovde. Kliknite na sliku kolumne i otvoriće vam se čitljiv sken.

KLIP vs SCREEN DAILY

Screen Daily je objavio prvu kritiku KLIPA Maje Miloš i njihovi utisci su naravno iznaredni. Pročitajte obavezno!

Brimming with energy, anger and a sense of youthful frustration, Serbian film Clip (Klip), which had its world premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival, will court controversy due to its young teenage cast and sequences of highly explicit sex acts. It is a film that will divide opinion, but it is also one that demands attention.

Pleasure and pain entwined as she pursues what passes for love in such a brutal and uncaring environment.

Of course, teenage angst is a subject matter much beloved of filmmakers, but writer/director Maja Milos shows a lot of courage with this bleak and harsh story of teenage self-destruction, with the sense of hopelessness amongst the young generation in Serbia the backdrop. Festivals appreciative of its boldness will support Clip, though its raw sexuality and slightly uncomfortable voyeuristic nature may make the film a hard sell to distributors. The film screened in the Tiger competition section.

Maja Milos sets the film’s context right from the first scene. Sixteen year-old Jasna (an impressive Isidora Simijonovic, who was 14 when filming started) talks straight to her mobile phone camera, responding to the sexual come-ons for 18 year-old Djole (Vukasin Jasni) who she is in love with.

She lives at home with her parents (Sanja Mikitisan and Jovo Maksic) and younger sister, but avoids taking part in family life as a way of dealing with the fact that her father is seriously ill. Her only real interests are her posing for her mobile phone, getting drunk her friends and pursuing Djole.

She starts a ‘relationship’ of sorts with Djole, which mainly involves he submitting to his every whim (ranging from masturbating onto her, having her crawl around undressing with a belt tied round her neck, or indulging in anal sex), with their only real communication coming from that fact that everything they do is filmed on a mobile phone.

She gradually comes to terms with her father’s illness and is part of family visits to the hospital, though her real moment of humanity comes when via the school she visits a care home for young children and is drawn to young Stana (Miona Denisijevic), who she is mortified to find out may not have young to live.

But despite – or maybe if perhaps – of her brushes with the flimsy nature of life she is soon back pursuing Djole at virtually any cost, with pleasure and pain entwined as she pursues what passes for love in such a brutal and uncaring environment.

The film features two explicit scenes of fellatio, though Maja Milos points out that the young cast were not involved and body doubles were involved. In fact the end credits start with the statement, “Underaged persons weren’t involved in scenes of explicit sex and nudity”.

This, though, doesn’t alter the sense that scenes – and there are plenty of them – of Isidora Simijonovic stripping and writhing in her underwear as she poses for the ever-present mobile phone (filmed either by herself or friends) are uncomfortable. But what saves the film is that it dives headlong into the brutal, unpleasant (the young guys are all rather nasty and characterless individuals) and desperately sad world that may be facing young Serbs as they try and fit in at all costs and become personalities that can deal with their circumstances around them.

Production company/sales: Film House Bas Celik, http://bascelik.net

Producer: Jelena Mitrovic

Cinematography: Vladimir Simic

Editor: Stevan Filipovic

Production designer: Zorana Petrov

Main cast: Isidora Simijonovic, Vukasin Jasni, Sanja Mikitisan, Jovo Maksic, Monja Savic, Katarina Pesic, Sonja Janicic, Jovana Stopjiljkovic

SAFE HOUSE klip

Izašao je prvi klip iz holivudskog debija švedskog reditelja Daniela Espinose SAFE HOUSE. Reklo bi se da reditelj SNABBA CASHa uspešno kanališe Tony Scotta u ovom akcionom trileru smeštenom među tajne agente u Južnoj Africi.

EROS I VALKIRE

Današnje dnevne novine donose zanimljivu vest o jednom kinematografskom pioniru sa naših prostora koji je imao značajnu ulogu u Drugom svetskom ratu:

Roko Zifredi u Vršcu!

Pre nekoliko dana u Beogradu počelo je snimanje novog filma Eros i Valkire provokativne francuske rediteljke Katrin Breja koja je našoj publici poznata po bezobraznim filmovima Romansa X i Anatomija pakla u kojima je sarađivala sa čuvenim porno glumcem Rokom Zifredijem. Zifredi ponovo glumi kod nje, na radost svih Beograđanki koje su do sada igrale sporednu ulogu u njegovom životu i radu.

U kratkoj izjavi koju je nam je dao, Zifredi je izrazio oduševljenje tradicionalnim srpskim gostoprimstvom i potvrdio je da su domaća kuhinja i Beograđanke naši istinski izvozni brendovi. "Sigurno ću se vratiti u Beograd, nisam ni slutio koliko lepih žena imate ovde", naglasio je Roko.

Eros i Valkire je istinita priča o rodonačelniku savremene pornografije Vrščaninu Budimiru Đuroviću koji je istoriju Drugog svetskog rata želeo da ispisuje svojim pištoljem ali je kada su ga Nemci zarobili 1941. godine u Beloj Crkvi počeo da je ispisuje nečim drugim. Đurović (1918) je bio predratni komunista koji se kao student u Beogradu izdržavao zabavljajući imućne dame, a po nekim izvorima i gospodu. Sa početkom rata uključio se u partizanski pokret i zarobljen je u borbama u okolini Bele Crkve u avgustu 1941. godine. Tokom isleđivanja, zavodi oficira Gestapoa majora Ludviga Vinklera i njih dvojica započinju svoju izopačenu vezu. Vinkler mu je isposlovao da robija kao njegov sluga i mnoge od svojih nestašluka sa Đurovićem i ostatkom posluge snima amaterskom kamerom. Vinkler je dosta raskalašno prikazivao svoje snimke i oni dolaze do Berlina gde u centrali Gestapoa dolaze na ideju da snime seriju kratkih filmova sa Đurovićem koje će prikazivati trupama na frontu.

Ubrzo snimci Đurovića u zagrljaju sa zanosnim Arijevkama postaju pravi hit među trupama kako SSa tako i Vermahta i služe im za podizanje morala. Američka tajna služba OSS krajem 1943. Zaplenjuje neke od tih filmova tokom borbi u Africi i odlučuje da otme Đurovića.

Uz pomoć ilegalne mreže Pukovnika Fon Štaufenberga, Amerikanci uspevaju da otmu Đurovića i dovedu ga u Veliku Britaniju gde prilično lako nalaze momke sa kojima on snima nekoliko porno filmova koje zatim ponovo preko nemačkih pučista distribuiraju jedinicama Vermahta. Prizor Đurovića, svojevrsnog erotskog superheroja običnog nemačkog vojnika, u zagrljaju drugog muškarca izaziva šok i demorališe trupe na frontu.

Slučaj Buduimira Đurovića se i dan-danas izučava na visokim vojnim školama širom sveta kao vrhunski primer specijalnog i propagandnog rata. Američka armija je čak usvojila i tzv "Đurovićevu doktrinu" i sličnim postupcima vodila je propagandnu borbu u Nikaragvi, Granadi i Panami.

Do kraja rata, Đurović je sporadično snimao i konvencionalne porno filmove za zabavu američkih trupa, tako je da na kraju uz pesmu Lili Marlen, i on postao značajan deo intime vojnika na obe strane fronta.

Posle rata, Đurović je kao komunista napustio Veliku Britaniju i nastanio se u SSSRu. Vrlo brzo ga je vrbovao NKVD ali ne da snima filmove već da obavlja prozaičnije zadatke za njih, pre svega u formi zavođenja stranih diplomata, njihovih supruga i razne ucene. Poslednji značajan Đurovićev istorijski angažman bio je kada je od strane sovjetskih službi kao ljubavnik dodeljen Gaju Bardžisu, pripadniku čuvene „kemdbridžke četvorke“.

Vinkler je navodno preživeo rat i pobegao u SAD gde je nastavio da radi za njihove obaveštajne agencije, a jedan od uslova mu je bio da Amerikanci ponovo urede susret sa Đurovićem. Kada od toga nije bilo ništa, Vinkler je izvršio samoubistvo pod misterioznim okolnostima 1948. godine.

Sredinom osamdesetih godina, slavni jugoslovenski sineasta Lordan Zafranović pripremao je film o Đuroviću, po scenariju Mirka Kovača, sa Radetom Šerbedžijom u glavnoj ulozi. Do realizacije nije došlo zbog političkih pritisaka iako su nemački i italijanski producenti obezbedili sredstva i učešće takvih imena kao što su Silvija Kristel i Laura Antoneli a Vinklera je trebalo da igra Horst Buholc. Ugovori su bili potpisani ali je onda neko iz samog vrha sve obustavio i projekat se raspao. Dokumentacija o ovom nesnimljenom filmu danas je pohranjena u biblioteci Kinoteke.

Posle raspada SSSRa, Đurović se zbog ekonomske krize u Rusiji vratio u rodni Vršac i danas u svojoj 94. godini živi sam od skromne policijske penzije stečene u Sovjetskom Savezu. Komšije kažu da je vrlo omiljen te i dan-danas ume da se u prolazu vedro našali na neku lascivnu temu. Ipak, reklo bi se da komšije ne znaju baš sve detalje o tome kako je Đurović prelomio tok Drugog svetskog rata.

Zifredi i Breja su upoznali Đurovića a snimili su i nekoliko kadrova sa njim koji će biti ukomponovani na kraju ovog igranog filma. Snimanje će se posle Vršca i Beograda nastaviti u Budimpešti i Pragu.

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION 8. marta U RUSIJI

Novi film Mela Gibsona HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION stiže 8. marta u ruske bioskope. Evo i prvog trejlera za tamošnje tržište!

THE THIRD HALF

Film Darka Mitrevskog o sudbinskom fudbalskom meču u okupiranom Skoplju, dobio je svoj prvi promo video. Više informacija o projektu možete naći OVDE. Uživajte!

:)

Na ovoj adresi napravljena je kolekcija plakata Movies Fron an Alternate Universe. Pored vrlo duhovitog dizajna, naročito obratite pažnju na glumce i reditelje u nesnimljenim verzijama velikih klasika.

KLIP klip

Pogledajte prvi trejler za KLIP Maje Miloš!

KLIP u ROTERDAMU!

Kada smo rekli da je KLIP Maje Miloš najvažniji srpski film u 2012. godini, nismo pogrešili. KLIP će imati premijeru u zvaničnoj selekciji roterdamskog festivala što je uspeh kakav poslednjih godina nisu postizali naši filmovi.
Novi srpski film konačno postiže priznanje i pažnju kakvo zaslužuje a autorska hrabrost biva nagrađena. Stvari više neće biti iste.

Fifteen films have been selected for IFFR's Tiger Awards Competition 2012. The complete lineup, comprising first or second feature films concurring for three equal Hivos Tiger Awards of each 15,000 euro, includes eight world premieres. Five competing films have received support from Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund. The Rotterdam Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films 2012 comprises twenty-one films, ranging in length from five to fifty-six minutes. Nine short films in competition will see their world premieres in Rotterdam.

Jury Tiger Awards Competition 2012
The Jury of the seventeenth Tiger Awards Competition comprises actress and film maker Helena Ignez from Brazil, star of Rogerio Sganzerla’s The Red Light Bandit, and co-founder of legendary production company Belair; Ludmila Cvikova, Head of International Programming of the Doha Film Institute, Qatar and former programmer of the International Film Festival Rotterdam; Tine Fischer, director of CPH:DOX, the international documentary film festival in Copenhagen, Denmark; film maker Eric Khoo from Singapore, who’s animated feature film Tatsumi screens in the festival; film maker Samuel Maoz from Israel, who’s first feature film Lebanon was launched as a project at CineMart and went on to win the Golden Lion in Venice. The winners of the Hivos Tiger Awards will be announced on Friday 3 February.

Tiger Awards Competitie Nominees 2012

	De jueves a domingo (Dominga Sotomayor, Chile/Netherlands, 2012, 96’, world premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film) Sotomayor’s feature film début, expertly shot by Barbara Alvarez, is a Chilean road movie set in and around the car belonging to a middle-class family. Seen through eyes of the kids in the back, they embark on a four day holiday trip to the north, while the marriage is falling apart. Dominga Sotomayor’s short film Videojuego was screened in Rotterdam in 2010. De jueves a dimingo was selected for the Cannes Cinéfondation Résidence 2010.
	Voice of My Father (Orhan Eskiköy & Zeynel Dogan, Turkey, Germany, 2011, 87’, world premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film) Voice of My Father is a powerful meditation on identity and family ties, and a profound portrait of a country in transition. Co-director Zeynel Dogan plays a character called Zeynel who lives with his pregnant wife in Diyarbakir, while his mother lives alone in the old family house in a nearly deserted village. Eskiköy and Dogan co-directed documentary short films and the feature length documentary On the Way to School. Voice of My Father is a fiction, based on Zeynel Dogan’s family history.
	Neighbouring Sounds (Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil, 2012, 100’, world premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film) For his gripping. slow burning feature film début Kleber Mendonça Filho expanded on a theme from one of his short films, Eletrodoméstica. In the middle class street where a rich family owns much of the real estate, life takes an unexpected turn when a private security outfit offers its services to the inhabitants. The presence of the guards brings a feeling of security but also adds good deal of anxiety to a culture that runs on fear. In 2007, IFFR presented five short films by Kleber Mendonça Filho as a ‘Profile’ in the short films section.
	Living (Vasily Sigarev, Russia, 2012, 119’, world premiere) Vasily Sigarev's second feature, after his acclaimed WOLFY, is a grim portrait of existence in a wintry Russian town, showing some characters living through their own ordeal. A mother wants to reunite with her twin daughters; after a wedding ceremony, a young couples’ love is tested in the most brutal way; a boy wants to see his estranged father, despite his mother's protests. Celebrated young playwright and director offers an unsentimental, sincere and personal film on the complexity of life – and death.
	Egg and Stone (Huang Ji, China, 2012, 97’, world premiere) In the Hunan province village where she was born, Huang Ji shot her first elegant feature, a quietly disturbing drama about 14-year-old Honggui, who lives with her aunt and uncle in the countryside. It seems she is not very wanted. Her parents intended to farm her out to family for only two years so they could work in the big city, but in the meantime, seven years have passed. In 2009, she presented her mid-length fiction The Warmth of Orange Peel at the Berlinale.
	Clip (Maja Milos, Serbia, 2012, 100’, world premiere) Maja Miloš’s first feature film is a dynamic, disturbing portrait of contemporary youth. Jasna, played fearlessly by Isidora Simijonovic, is a pretty girl in her mid-teens. With a terminally ill father and dispirited mother at home, she is disillusioned by her unglamorous life in a remote Serbian town. Opposing everyone, including herself, she goes experimenting with sex, drugs and partying.
	In April the Following Year, There Was a Fire (Wichanon Somumjarn, Thailand, 2012, 76’, world premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film) At first sight, an atmospheric, suitably languid portrait of a young man returning to his home town in North Eastern Thailand from his job in Bangkok to attend a friends’ wedding in the hottest month of the year, Wichanon Somumjarn’s first feature turns into a semi-autobiography, and a journey into the labyrinth of the real and the imagined, the past and the present, the personal and the political.
	Black's Game (Óskar Thor Axelsson, IJsland, 2012, 100’, word premiere) Reykjavik, April 1999: Iceland’s crime scene is in violent flux and young Stebbi suddenly finds himself in a world of tough guys, drugs dealers, stunning blondes, drugs, robberies and slaughter. The feature début by Óskar Thor Axelsson is based on the bestselling Icelandic gangster story Black Curse by Stefán Máni and was executive produced by Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher, Drive).
	It Looks Pretty From a Distance (Anka Sasnal & Wilhelm Sasnal, Poland, USA, 2011, 77’, international premiere) The feature film début by visual artists Anka & Wilhelm Sasnal focuses on a small Polish community during a hot summer. Everyone is either about to explode or come to a complete halt. Hidden aggression, hatred, discrimination, as well as fears, longings and emotional crises are on the edge of breaking through the surface. Using a precise and austere style, the Sasnals create a physical portrait of a micro society that turns into a viscous swamp, unresistingly absorbing any kind of violence.
	Romance Joe (Lee Kwang-Kuk, South Korea, 2011, 115’, international premiere) Lee Kwang-Kuk, former assistant director to Hong Sang-Soo, plays the storytelling game with unmistakable pleasure in this elegantly shot first feature. In a web of intertwined stories, a film maker seeks inspiration and finds it with an energetic waitress who in return for some payment is willing to tell him about, for instance, the time she met a suicidal guy called Romance Joe.
	A Fish (Park Hong-Min, South Korea, 2011, 105’, international premiere) Park Hong-Min’s feature debut A FISH is the first 3-D film in the Rotterdam Tiger Awards Competition. Little by little, the filmmaker reveals where this unfortunate road movie is taking its characters. In a roadside restaurant, the protagonist, Professor Lee, picks up the detective who says he has found Lee's missing wife on an island off the coast. The men head for the sea, but that night, the professor has a curious dream.
	Return to Burma (Midi Z, Taiwan, Birma, 2011, 84’, European premiere) Return to Burma, first feature by Midi Z, offers a unique, authentic story from Burma (Myanmar). Xing-hong, a Burmese guest-worker in Taiwan, has the duty of returning the ashes of a friend to their native country. At home, there’s the joy of seeing friends and family. Young people still sing romantic songs and dream of working aborad, like his younger brother. Xing-hong starts to look around for local business opportunities.
	Sudoeste (Eduardo Nunes, Brazil, 2011, 128’, European premiere, Hubert Bals Fund supported film) Sudoeste, a tale of fantasy and mystery shot in stunning black-and-white, is Eduardo Nunes’ fiction feature début, after several successful short films, three of which were screened at IFFR. Situated in a sleepy Brazilian coastal village, a baby, a girl and a woman named Clarice seem to live their (or is it her?) life in one single day.
	L (Babis Makridis, Greece, 2012, 86’, European premiere) The protagonist in L, a man aged 40, is a more than dedicated driver. His work is his life, and his car is more than a means of transport. He lives in his car, receiving his family at fixed times. His employer is a rich narcoleptic who can’t drive himself. But The Man loses his job and decides to go looking for another means of transport. A unique combination of abstract comedy and existential drama, Makridis debut feature is filled with singular dialogue, a stuttering Mondscheinsonate and a great song about bears.
	Tokyo Playboy Club (Okuda Yosuke, Japan, 2011, 97’, European premiere) In 2010, young film maker Okuda Yosuke made a name for himself with his low-budget gangster comedy Hot as Hell: The Deadbet March. This year, he returns with his first commercially made film, a dry-humorous crime story set in the fringes of Japanese society. A gangster drama that focuses on people who primarily live by instinct, which results in reckless behaviour, bad decisions, and violence.

1961: ODISEJA U SVEMIRU

Konačno postoji dovoljna istorijska distanca da se mogu sagledati svi razlozi raspada Jugoslavije. Evo najave za dokumenatarac koji govori o jednom od ključnih...

HERRMANN na NERETVI

Nenad Polimac je za Jutarnji List napisao izuzetno zanimljiv tekst o radu Bernarda Herrmanna na muzici za Bulajićevu BITKU NA NERETVI. O tome šta se za sada zna o njihovoj saradnji i u kojim verzijama se može čuti njegov skor>

Na ovogodišnjem pulskom festivalu dio uvodne ceremonije bio je posvećen stotoj obljetnici rođenja skladatelja Bernarda Herrmanna: gudači kvartet Porin za tu je prigodu izveo tri kraće teme iz njegova opusa, ulomke glazbe za Hitchcockove filmove „Vrtoglavica“, „Sjever sjeverozapad“ i „Psiho“.

Herrmann je itekako zaslužio tu posvetu: rođen je u New Yorku, još kao klinac je slovio za glazbeno čudo od djeteta, a s 20 godina imao je vlastiti orkestar. Po njegovu karijeru sudbonosno je bilo poznanstvo s Orsonom Wellesom, za čije je radio emisije s kraja 30-ih skladao glazbu, između ostalog i za „Rat svjetova“, koji je uzbunio čitavu Ameriku. Welles ga je angažirao i za svoj kino prvijenac „Građanin Kane“: od 9 nominacija za Oscara, jedna je pripala i Herrmannovoj glazbi, međutim, on je tu nagradu dobio za jedan drugi film, fantastičnu komediju „Vrag i Daniel Webster“ Williama Dieterlea, za koju je također bio nominiran. 40-ih i 50-ih prometnuo se u jednog od najcjenjenijih svjetskih skladatelja filmske glazbe, a kreativne mu vrhunce predstavljaju suradnje s Hitchcockom, koje prestaju sredinom šezdesetih, kada je kompanija Universal sugerirala redatelju da odbije Herrmannovu glazbu za film „Strgnuta zavjesa“ i zamijeni je onom britanskog skladatelja Johna Addisona. Herrmann je još samo jednom uspio izboriti dvostruku nominaciju za Oscara, u proljeće 1977., zahvaljujući tome što je počeo surađivati s novohollywoodskim prvacima Martinom Scorseseom i Brianom De Palmom te skladao „soundtrack“ za „Taksista“ odnosno „Opsesiju“: ishod nije dočekao, jer je umro u prosincu 1975., u snu od srčanog udara.

Po završetku pulske ceremonije sreo sam redatelja Zrinka Ogrestu, koji me upitao nije li se Herrmanna moglo nekako vezati za naše podneblje, jer je taj – koliko se on sjeća – pisao glazbu za neki partizanski film. „Naravno“, odgovorio sam mu, „skladao je glazbu za Bitku na Neretvi Veljka Bulajića“. Obojica smo se složili da je uprava festivala, u strahu od optužbe za jugonostalgičarstvo, vjerojatno smatrala kako nije zgodno Herrmanna dovoditi u takav kontekst, iako bi bila prava senzacija da su pod pulskim nebom te večeri zazvučali akordi iz njegove partiture za taj film.

Za vezu Herrmanna i „Bitke na Neretvi“ znao sam još desetljećima ranije, jer je početkom 70-ih Herrmann u časopisu „Sight & Sound“ spominjao rad na tom filmu. Potkraj 80-ih kupio sam u Londonu, u dućanu specijaliziranom za filmsku glazbu, „soundtrack“ i platio ploču dvostruko više no što su tada koštali novi albumi.

Ploča je, naravno, postala hit među mojim znancima (sve ih je zagolicala tema „Marš četnika“) i svi su se slagali da je Bulajić napravio grešku kada je za verziju filma koju smo gledali u kinima bivše Jugoslavije koristio pomalo patetičnu glazbu svoga „dvorskog“ skladatelja Vladimira Krausa Rajterića (ponikao u glazbenom odjelu Jadran filma, prvi soundtrack skladao za „Cestu dugu godinu dana“ Giuseppea De Santisa, a zatim su uslijedili Bulajićevi spektakli „Vlak bez voznog reda“, „Rat“, „Uzavreli grad“ i „Kozara“), a ne Herrmannovu uzbudljivu orkestraciju. Tada je već dobro poznata bila činjenica da su Herrmanna angažirali američki koproducenti „Bitke na Neretvi“ i da su njegovu glazbu koristili za svoju verziju, u kojoj se govorilo engleski. Imao sam prilike tada također kupiti u Londonu VHS kazetu s tom američkom verzijom, ali me obeshrabrio podatak da film traje tek nešto preko sto minuta: u odnosu na izvornih 160 minuta filmova ovo se doimalo kao pravi masakr originala.

Tek sam nedavno uspio nabaviti tu američku verziju i to na španjolskom jeziku (valjda namijenjenu latinoameričkim tržištima , jer u Francovu Španjolsku taj film isprva nije smio biti uvezen), međutim, špica je na engleskom jeziku, imena su povremeno napisana traljavo pa je Veljko Bulajić, dok ga se potpisivalo kao koscenarista, postao „Valjko“, i očito je to ta verzija koju je nadgledao Bulajićev američko-britanski partner Commonwealth United Entertainment. Po prvi puta sam spojio sliku s Herrmannovom glazbom i unatoč trajanju od 105 minuta sugerirao bih svim poklonicima filma – kojih u nas ima dosta – da si priušte to iskustvo. Film je montiran znatno drukčije od originalne jugoslavenske verzije (ugledni Roger Dwyre, montažer međunarodne reputacije, očito se naradio na toj verziji), četnici s Orsonom Wellesom i Dušanom Bulajićem pojavljuju se tek nakon 50-ak minuta, povremeno morate otrpjeti „obrazovne“ titlove kao što su „Njemački saveznici – jugoslavenski fašisti ustaše“ ili „Njemački saveznici – jugoslavenski rojalisti četnici“, a jugoslavenski glumci u glavnim ulogama, poput Borisa Dvornike, Bate Živojinovića i Milene Dravić, navedeni su kao da su debitanti. No, u osnovi, sve je tu, ukoliko vam se jugoslavenska verzija činila predugačkom, ovo je prava mjera za konzumiranje tog filma.

Na špici njemačke verzije, koja se povremeno emitira na njemačkim satelitskim kanalima i traje respektabilne 144 minute, jasno piše da je film jugoslavensko-njemačko-talijanska koprodukcija dok se Commonwealth United na njoj uopće i ne spominje. Jugoslavenska pak verzija, koja se jedina može smatrati integralnom, ponavlja isti podatak, ali spominje da je film napravljen „uz suradnju“ Commonwealth Uniteda: znači, partneri su sebi od samog početka podijelili tržišta. Pritom treba priznati da je pet domaćih producenata (Bosna film, Jadran film, sarajevska Kinema, Radna zajednica „Bitka na Neretvi“ i Jugoslavenska armija) imalo razloga za zadovoljstvo, jer je film bio jedan od velikih događaja toga razdoblja, ne samo kulturnog nego i društvenog i ideološkog značaja, Eichberg film iz Münchena također ga je dobro eksploatirao u zemljama njemačkog govornog područja, kao i rimski Igor film na svom terenu. A Commonwealth United? Podaci o tome su dvojbeni.

Za Oscara u kategoriji najboljeg stranog filma kandidirana je integralna jugoslavenska verzija (drukčije nije ni moglo, budući da film mora biti većim dijelom na jeziku zemlje koja ga prijavljuje) i uspjela se probiti među pet nominiranih, ali nije imala šanse protiv francuskog filma „Z“, koji je bio nominiran ne samo u toj kategoriji nego i za glavnog Oscara. Nju su šefovi Commonwealth Uniteda pokazali Herrmannu kada su mu ponudili da sklada glazbu za verziju na engleskom jeziku. Zašto su ga uopće angažirali, zašto im nije bila dobra glazba Vladimira Krausa Rajterića, koju su slušali Nijemci, Talijani, Rusi i mnogi drugi? Dvije su pretpostavke. Po prvoj, Commonwealthu je trebalo zvučno skladateljsko ime koje bi pridodali na ratni film o nekakvoj kompliciranoj njemačkoj ofanzivi u Istočnoj Europi za 2. svjetskog rata: glumci poput Yula Brynnera, Orsona Wellesa i Franca Nera očito im nisu bili dovoljni. Naizgled logično, no Herrmann tada baš nije bio na vrhuncu karijere. Nakon razlaza s Hitchcockom već se preselio iz Amerike u London, radio je samo za Françoisa Truffauta („Farenheit 451“, „Nevjesta je bila u crnini“) te na još nekolicini manje poznatih naslova, sve dok mu se sredinom 70-ih, neposredno prije smrti, karijera nije opet našla u usponu. Druga je pretpostavka da je Commonwealth za svoje tržište od samog početka namjeravao jako kratiti film. Zbog toga mu trebao novi skladatelj, koji će napisati glazbu točno po mjeri nove verzije, što je Herrmann i napravio. Pritom nije „tezgario“, skladao je odličan „soundtrack“ i snimio ga s Londonskim filharmonijskim orkestrom. Potvrda smanjenih ambicija Commonwealtha može se naći u činjenici da je film jedva eksploatiran u američkim kinima (kao distributer se navodi legendarni American International Pictures, specijaliziran za eksploatacijske filmove s puno akcije, seksa i nasilja), te da nikad nije prikazan niti u kinima Velike Britanije. Commonwealthovi izdaci za film ionako nisu bili veliki – samo honorar Yula Brynnera, koji tada baš nije bio u profesionalnom zenitu, a Orson Welles – kako smatra naš povjesničar Daniel Rafaelić - dogovorio se s Bosna filmom da pomogne realizaciji njegovog nikad završenog filma „Dubina“: sve ostalo je bila obrada već gotovog materijala i njegova prilagodba tržištima koje su kontrolirali.

Prije no što će prionuti poslu na filmu, Herrmann je u Londonu upoznao Bulajića. Našli su se u foajeu jednog hotela i razgovarali o „Bitki na Neretvi“, a on se pohvalno izrazio o glazbi Krausa Rajterića (čak je neke motive tog skladatelja koristio u svom „soundtracku“). Poslije su se sreli samo još jednom, na nekom filmskom festivalu, no Bulajić se točno ne sjeća prigode.

U rasvjetljavanju okolnosti u kojima je nastao taj soundtrack baš ne pomaže inače respektabilna skladateljeva biografija „Srce u središtu vatre – život i glazba Bernarda Herrmanna“. Autor Steven C. Smith, naime, pogrešno pretpostavlja da je Herrmann angažiran za originalnu verziju filma, za Vladimira Krausa Rajterića ne zna ni da postoji, a navodi i jednu poprilično nevjerojatnu anegdotu: po njoj se Herrmann pripremao tako što je sa svojom friškom trećom suprugom (izrazito ljevičarskih uvjerenja) otišao u Jugoslaviju, boravio i u Zagrebu, gdje su ga spopali agenti UDBA-e i samo za bračni par otvarali restorane koji više nisu radili. Smith se poziva na Herrmannovu suprugu, koja mu je to ispričala, no prije to sliči na izmišljene zgode iza „željezne zavjese“, a manje na autentičnu priču iz tada vrlo otvorene hrvatske metropole.

Dok gledate „La batalla del rio Neretva“, kako se na španjolskom zove film, ne samo da možete uživati u Herrmannovoj glazbi, nego i u fotografiji Tomislava Pintera: u odnosu na ovu verziju, izvorna jugoslavenska, koju smo prošle jeseni gledali na HRT-u, doima se blijedo i isprano. Rafaelić me upozorava da je na festivalu u Moskvi, gdje je lani „Bitka na Neretvi“ lani uvrštena među deset najboljih ratnih filmova svih vremena, prikazana kopija iz arhiva Mosfilma upravo fantastične kvalitete: takve boje mogli ste vjerojatno vidjeti jedino na premijernom prikazivanju u jugoslavenskim kinima, potkraj 1969. godine. Na žalost, ni naš najspektakularniji film ne možemo gledati kako spada: trebalo bi iznova restaurirati njegovu originalnu verziju, ali i što prije nabaviti američku, s glazbom Bernarda Herrmanna.

Zanimljive detalje o nastanku ovog filma možete pročitati TU i TAMO.