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Lepa sela lepo gore Pretty Village, Pretty Flame. Christopher Fort Slavic 770 5/11/11. Srđan Dragojević. Born in January 1, 1963 in Belgrade Studied film at the University of Belgrade His first film, both as director and screenwriter, was Mi nismo an đ eli
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Lepaselalepo gorePretty Village, Pretty Flame Christopher Fort Slavic 770 5/11/11
Srđan Dragojević • Born in January 1, 1963 in Belgrade • Studied film at the University of Belgrade • His first film, both as director and screenwriter, was Minismo anđeli • In 1996 Lepaselalepo gore was released, earning the director domestic and international fame • Because of the success of his films Dragojević received a deal with Miramax but ultimately didn’t produce anything because Miramax or the actors on the project vetoed his ideas • He returned to Serbia in 2003 and has worked on various projects, his latest being Paradaand Montevideo, bog te video: Pricadruga
Historical Background • The film features the opening stages of the Bosnian war • After Slovenia and Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia in 1991, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina passed a referendum declaring its independence from Yugoslavia on February 29, 1992. • Bosnian Serb politicians rejected the results of the referendum and formed the RepublikaSrpska • The Bosnian Serbs, with the support of Slobodan Milošević and the Yugoslav army, attacked the newly independent Bosnia • The war included travesties, ethnic cleansing, mass murder, and machinations on both sides. • The war concluded when NATO entered the conflict in 1994 and forced a peace settlement in 1995.
Фабула • 1971 – opening of the Tunnel of Unity on June 27 • 1980 – Milan and Halil as children, probably in the Drina valley near Goražde because of the GŽ license plates • Late 1980s/early 1990s – Milan and Halil open a garage • 1992 – the first day of war according to the film • 1994 – the squad is trapped in the tunnel • 1994 – the remaining members of the squad are in a military hospital in Belgrade • Outside of time sequence in the tunnel • 1999 – epilogue and the reopening of the tunnel under the new name “Tunnel of Peace”
Identity Serbs • Civilization • Religion • Warring • Masculine/Male genitalia • On the defensive, offended party, self-sacrifice Bosnians • Muslim/Turks • Backwards • Circumcised/impotent • Fork gives the bullets Muslim names
Alterity • Dialog mostly among the Serbs. Bosnian voices are heard above the tunnel and over the radio, but no faces are seen until exiting • Occidentalization, better than Europe • Sexual potency • Yugoslavism, communism rejected in the tunnel • Music • Men vs. Women • Nobility of birth, purity of motherhood
Violence • Violence introduced at the very beginning of the film with the opening of the tunnel, and the same act repeated at the end • Burning of villages • Rape • Suicide • The film culminates with bloody scene of crawling in the hospital hallway • Scenes with Milan and Halil even in childhood feature violence, although not malevolent
Questions for Discussion • Why does the film feature a tunnel as the supposed point of unity rather than a bridge? • According to the film, does the war create salient identities for the combatants or are extant identities the cause of the war? • What does the film say about violence in the Balkans as a whole? Does it result from ancient ethnic hatreds, from political machinations, or from something else?