ABSURD OF DIVISIONS, VICTORY AND FREEDOM: MAN FROM THE OAK FOREST (1964) AND THE TOUGH ONES (1968) BY MIĆA POPOVIĆ
Posted: Sep 30th 2008
Author: Marko Krstić
The aim of this paper is to aesthetically revaluate the two major movies directed by the famous Serbian painter Mićа Popović (1923-1996). This means an effort of going behind the usual interpretations that stress only the political, ideologically subversive side of Čovek iz hrastove šume (The Man From the Oak Forest, 1964) and Delije (The Tough Ones, 1968), interpretations that inevitably accentuate the well-known “ban” of The Tough Ones. Applying the close reading method to the unique Popović’s usage of the film language in these two works, the author of the essay demonstrates that these films can be read in multiple ways, beside the obvious political meaning which was certainly unacceptable for the Communist government at the time. The essay points out Popović’s anti-war attitude [comparing it to the one found in Godard’s classic Les Carabiniers (The Carabineers, 1963)] and his existentialist take on the desperation after “victory” and freedom, as well as on absurdly extreme consequences ideological separation between communist partisans and monarchist chetniks had in Serbia.
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