BALLAD OF A CRUEL ONE (1971) AS A FILM OF VENGEANCE
Posted: Sep 30th 2008
Author: Miloš Cvetković
Ballad of a Cruel One was neglected at the time of its premiere, and remains undiscovered and largely unknown to later generations of film critics and cinephiles. The aim of this essay is to point at the correlations between this title and similar ones being made at the same time abroad (like Straw Dogs, 1971) and to prove that Serbian film, at least in the past, was able to be up to date with then-current cinema. A minute close reading of this film unveils complexities and subtleties unnoticed by the critics decades ago: those have to do with the clever, psychologically nuanced script, but also with a commendable execution of both drama, suspense and action scenes. Recognizing the deft use of archetypes (black-white, faith-betrayal, community-isolation, forgiveness-revenge, hatred-redemption...), the essay points to the universal qualities of this film which make it a timeless record of a successful blend of genre and "serious" cinema whose neglect, at least in part, can also be attributed to the fact that its author, Radivoje Lola Đukić (1923-1995), was widely known for his populist comedies. Thus Ballad of a Cruel One has never received a serious examination, undeservedly condemned to a footnote not only in its director\'s filmography, abut also in the Serbian cinema. This essay is a step toward recognizing the values of the forgotten gems of the cinematic tradition.
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