In focus
When the Dead Start to Sing by Krsto Papić
A critical look at Krsto Papić’s latest
film When the Dead Start to Sing on the occasion
of its Zagreb premiere.
In a screenwriting association with Mate Matišić, Papić adapted his theatrical
play Cinko and Marinko into an action comedy with elements of character
and situation based comedy as well as elements of black humor and absurdity with
a political background thrown in for good measure. It is a little strange that
an author in his 70’s whose whole film opus is made up of serious drama’s full
of various, most often political and erotic tensions decided to try his hand
at something which should be a playful comedy. When looking at Papić’s opus it
is clear that he is a true author of so-called art films (in comparison to populist
or genre films) and his self-appointment into the ranks of so-called genre films
is a very bold move.
This is where the elementary problems plaguing When the
Dead Start to Sing emerge. The first problem is that
the direction is inadequate to the demands of the genre
in the first half of the film and the second problem, again
associated with genre, is the unsuitable dramatic-structuring
of the unfolding events in the second half. It should also
be added that the ending was not genre-based and the author
let a good opportunity to round off his film on a higher
creative note slip through his fingers.
Nevertheless, in this film, Papić has not abandoned his favorite
motifs and his continuity as an author — deserted and rocky
Dinarian localities and love which adopts tragic dimensions
as a result of political actions. In this regard, the most
interesting light motif of the film is a corpse who performs
local Dinarian songs. This leitmotif is completely unnecessary
in the film, but it is interesting because, in its modernistic
tradition, it bears witness to how Papić, consciously or
unconsciously in a populist context, remained true to his
background as a maker of art films. Moreover, he should return
to that background since his »artistic« film Handcuffs is
the best film of his opus by far.
Damir Radić |
