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Journalist (1979 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Journalist' ('Novinar') is a 1979 Croatian drama film directed and written by Fadil Hadi and starring Rade erbedija, Fabijan ovagovi and Stevo igon.
A politically provocative drama about an idealistic journalist who fights against censorship in the communist system, it is considered one of Hadi's best and most popular films, as well as one of the most prominent Croatian films of the 1970s.
Plot
Vlado Kova (Rade erbedija) is a journalist in a Zagreb daily newspaper. One morning, in a drunken outburst, he attacks a newsstand and throws the newspapers to the ground. This prompts a meeting of the journalists' communist organization where Kova's case is discussed. In the meeting, it transpires that the root cause of his revolt is dissatisfaction with the journalistic freedom in the newspaper: Kova's article about the workers' strike in the Mikros tools factory was stopped by Mirko, the editor (Tonko Lonza). In the meeting, Kova is sharply confronted by Tomac (Stevo igon) and is defended by Nada (Vera Zima), Kova's colleague.
Things take a turn for the worse for Kova when Tomac becomes the new editor. He appreciates Kova as a highly capable journalist and tries to win him over, but Kova is adamant. Kova's wife (Milena Zupani) criticizes him for his self-centeredness and alcohol abuse, leaves him, and files for divorce. There is a turnaround in the Mikros strike when the Party decides to side with the workers, and Tomac now commissions Kova to write an article similar to the one that was originally censored, which he refuses.
Kova befriends Kos (Fabijan ovagovi), an old journalist. Over time, many similarities emerge between the two: Kos was also highly educated and dedicated to his profession, but grew embittered and dejected over time, sinking into alcoholism. When Kos dies from alcohol overdose, Kova writes his obituary - only to find it heavily censored in the newspaper on the following day.
Cast
*Rade erbedija as Vlado Kova
*Fabijan ovagovi as Kos
*Milena Zupani as Irena, Kova's wife
*Vera Zima as Nada
*Tonko Lonza as Mirko
*Stevo igon as Tomac
* as ari
*Mladen Budiak as Franc
*Boidar Smiljani as Milan
*Izet Hajdarhodi as Ivo
*Slobodan Dimitrijevi
Themes
'Journalist' has been described as one of the most prominent examples of a subgenre which Croatian film historian Ivo krabalo has called the "feuilletonist cinema" . It is a Yugoslav variety of the Western-made political cinema, characterized by topical analysis of Yugoslav society and its problems, such as social inequality, careerism and inter-ethnic tension. In this aspect, 'Journalist' is a continuation of political themes seen in earlier Hadi's films such as 'Protest' and 'The Deer Hunt', as all three films center on a "revolutionary puritan engaged in a futile, obstinate, self-destructive battle against practical deviations of Yugoslav communism".
Although some Croatian film critics have described the film as exceptionally daring, Jurica Pavii found such assessments somewhat overstated, particularly in comparison with films of the Yugoslav Black Wave. Nevertheless, he noted that 'Journalist' was not only much more piercing than other 'feuilletonist' films, but also much more pessimistic: there is no happy end, as the film ends with the message that the establishment always prevails - crushing its opposition in the process - and that the system cannot be fixed. In retrospect, Hadi saw the film's central theme of journalistic integrity under attack of the powers-that-be still relevant in the early 21st century, a decade after the demise of the one-party system. In 1987, Hadi named 'Journalist' with 'Protest' and 'The Ambassador' among his best three films, and noted:
:[T]hose three films are actually a single film about the betrayed ideals of the revolution. It is a kind of a crucifix for the socialist morality which had romantic revolutionary and theoretic assumptions, and a subsequent corrosion in practice.
Journalism is also not a unique topic in Hadi's films - other examples include 'Official Position' and 'Back of the Medal' - but here it receives the most exhaustive treatment. Hadi, a former journalist and editor-in-chief of 'Vjesnik u srijedu', a highly popular 1950s Zagreb-based weekly magazine, gave the film an authentic feel readily recognized by professional journalists. Reminiscing on the film in 2002, Hadi stated:
:All these things in 'Journalist', the protagonist clashing with the editor and with that gray, invisible line which embodies the official politics I've been through all that.
Reception
'Journalist' was popular and well received. Fadil Hadi won the Golden Arena for Best Director at the 1979 Pula Film Festival. Despite the film's success, Hadi had to wait for five years before he got the chance to shoot his next film, 'The Ambassador'.
While some critics see 'Journalist' as an undeservedly overlooked classic, others find that the film's expressiveness and narrative soundness lag behind Hadi's best works. The critics' main complaint is the shallow characterization of the protagonist: his idealism and revolt seem completely unmotivated, even implausible, and his disagreeable, aloof disposition makes him difficult to sympathize with. Writing about the film in 2002, Croatian film critic Damir Radi characterized it as convincing in its treatment of the topic, but creatively less inspired.
References
Sources
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