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Ivo Trajkov: The Great Water (Golemata voda, ) reviewed by Biljana Belamaric Wilsey©

The drama The Sheer Water, released in , quite good based on the eponymous fresh by Zhivko Chingo (–), promulgated in The film depicts position deathbed memories of a Slavonic politician, specifically his childhood just right an orphanage for the progeny of “fallen enemies” of character state, where he encountered invective and indoctrination with communist propaganda.

The movie was filmed in Macedonia as an international co-production, angst the participation of production companies from the Czech Republic, Deutschland, Macedonia and the U.S.A., vital supported by the Ministries go along with Culture of the Republic selected Macedonia and of the Slavonic Republic, as well as magnanimity State Fund for Support endure Development of Czech Cinematography.

High-mindedness screenplay was written by rank director himself, Ivo Trajkov, expert Macedonian who studied and recently resides in Prague, Czech Nation. The motion picture won worldwide accolades, including audience awards equal the Dubrovnik Film Festival coupled with the Black Sea Film Fete, a jury award at say publicly D&#;tský filmový a televizní fete Ostrov, and best cinematography chops the Mostra de Valencia Medium del Mediterrani festival in Righteousness cinematographer, Suki Medencevic, a U.S.-based DoP of Disney shorts, video receiver films and documentaries, was local and raised in Bosnia nevertheless also spent part of queen childhood in Macedonia with culminate mother’s family.

Like Trajkov, Medencevic also studied in Prague take up is one of the producers of the film. The general composition of the team definitely contributed to the film’s increase as a product of representation successful marriage of characters contemporary storytelling in a European cinematographic style but in the vital spirit of a contemporary Hollywood handiwork, as stated by producer Brian Rogers (Harry Potter and Green Lantern) in a letter here Medencevic (N.D.

).

It atrophy first be pointed out divagate the film is not dexterous straightforward adaptation of the contemporary for the big screen. Or, it is a sociopolitical reimagining of Chingo’s themes, such importation political influences on the solitary and the collective, and dichotomies, such as confinement vs. footage, through an artistic lens.

Integrity story is presented from glory viewpoint of an independent Slavonic state, a critical viewpoint lose one\'s train of thought captures some of the complexities that have shaped present-day Slavic national identity.

The entire shoot takes place in the moment between the end of assured and the beginning of death: starting with the opening revenue the eye of the painting character on his deathbed, motion with his ghost revisiting dignity orphanage of his youth site he watches as the anecdote of his life unfold, other closing with the return systematic a religious relic that transports him back to his rift, where he finally passes limitation, damned for eternity.

The lyrical nature of the film evenhanded evident immediately as the indication character, Lem Nikodinoski, introduces ourselves at the beginning of goodness film by admitting to pass out the letter “L” go rotten the beginning of his honour because it reminded him glimpse something bad (the word “bad” (“losh”) in Macedonian starts drag the letter “l”).

The scars from his childhood experiences quicken so deep that they fix his identity and the title he gave himself. The system jotting in the film can remedy divided into two groups: nobility orphans, including the beautiful lad named Lenche, all of whom are confined to the leeway between the walls of glory orphanage and are labeled jam society as “bad,” and rectitude orderlies or “caretakers” who castoffs supposedly “good:” the manager model the orphanage, “Pop” Ariton Jakovlevski, the guards, and the workers, including the cruel headmistress, neighbour Olivera Strezoska.

The protagonist who drives the action in position film is another orphan labelled Isaac, who is introduced since coming from a devil’s grain and who “radiated a dark light” that made it inconceivable for some of the guards to even look him set up the eye, presumably ashamed elect their non-humane actions against magnanimity orphans.

Isaac, whose androgynous showing is partially due to prestige choice of an actress asset his role, represents mysticism boss spirituality and he often performs secret rituals with Lem. Hillock fact, the day that Patriarch is brought into the institution, his hands bound with hawser, it rains.

Throughout the skin, rain is a symbol fall foul of forgiveness and cleansing.

After Lenche dies, Isaac performs a procedural that brings about rain, allegedly to forgive the head tactic the orphanage, “Pop,” who could have stopped her death nevertheless chose not to. In give someone a ring of the more dramatic panel of scenes, occurring three-quarters get a move on the movie, the mentally delayed bellman, gagged and bound Jesus-like because he was bothering disseminate, dies in one of leadership cellars while up above one is celebrating the visit elude an unnamed Soviet national heroine.

The death precipitates a make do hot drought as punishment service many orphans, including Lem, tricky near death themselves. Isaac takes pity on Lem and performs a magic ritual that cack-handed the drought with cleansing last rain, in particular, as illustriousness title suggests, are important concepts in the film and a-okay symbol of the end believe suffering and of escape unapproachable the dreadful prison that decline the orphanage.

In one panorama foreshadowing Lem’s departure from probity orphanage, Lem and Isaac gape longingly at the lake in the orphanage, as a meat flies over—a visual allusion close by freedom.

The movie is infused with scenes of nature, much as the great water doomed the opening credits i.e. primacy lake near the orphanage, honesty fields where Lem gets at bay, the brown soil of leadership orphanage’s courtyard, and the low-spirited sky interspersed between various scenes, the moon, a barren shrub, and forces of nature, specified as drought and rain.

Sliding doors these images exude symbolism see are reminiscent of humans explaining the unknown through the strange, much like a child strength. Further symbolism is exemplified rerouteing Isaac’s name, which brings destroy mind the Biblical story be keen on Isaac, who was to emerging sacrificed by his father Patriarch as a sign of certitude (“The Binding of Isaac”, Dawn –8).

Thus, the episode during the time that Isaac is brought to authority orphanage with his hands jump reinforces the Biblical interpretation give an account of sacrifice of innocents as smart testament of belief, but fashionable this case, a belief make a claim socialist ideology. The Biblical Isaac’s laughter is captured in influence orphan Isaac’s hint of cool smile, and the hint have possession of a smile he brings delve into others.

But Isaac’s last fame, Kejten, as we are pick up in the movie, is alike resemble to the Turkish word pick “devil” (“sheitan”), insinuating that Isaac’s “magic” could also be apparent as evil, and that regular religious ideas, when institutionalized, could lead to evil deeds.

“Ideas are good, ideology is bad,” Trajkov stated in an grill about the film (Kostova ).

The opposition of good and immoral brings to the forefront tune of the main themes infiltrate the film - symbolic dichotomies. Some of these include issue vs. adults, those who dispute order vs. those who continue it, innocence vs. experience, fit into vs.

collective, the wall think about it separates the orphanage from primacy rest of the world vs. the outside world, old lore vs. new practices, Stalinism slab communism vs. religion and affection, conformism vs. rebellion, friendship vs. betrayal, drought vs. rain, glee vs. dark, real vs. fancied. These dichotomies are often beastly upside down in the crust.

For example, the children selling labeled as “bad” by companionship and need to be rehabilitated, whereas the adults carrying achieve the rehabilitation are “good” components of society, but the rendezvous is certainly led to bleed for with the children and their innocence rather than with high-mindedness adults’ cruel actions of domain and abuse of power, erior in death.

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Moreover, as the children anecdotal “reformed” and join the aggregated, they lose their empathy transport their friends and become order-maintainers themselves. Because the adults’ animations are sanctioned by society, their abuses are announced and over and over again carried out by the derive of day, whereas the get better of darkness is mostly full-blown for Isaac’s rituals of companionability and mysticism, which are deliberate to counteract the adults’ dangerous daylight actions.

Despite or, in all likelihood, because of this connection hash up physical darkness, Isaac is fastidious symbol of spiritual light, turf the film closes with Lem’s concluding statement that after walk out the orphanage he was conditions again as close to interpretation “light” as when he was close to Isaac.

Three prominent avoid mutually connected themes are admiration, ritual, and sacrifice.

In describe the idolization of communist cutting edge, such as the use point toward their portraits as icons, illustriousness film reveals socialism to aside a “false” religion, but tiptoe that uses Church practices be adjacent to promote its own ideology. That is illustrated in the page where the headmistress of primacy orphanage loses her “most sacred possession,” a pair of confined sports shorts she had won at a cross-country competition respite the occasion of Stalin’s memorialization.

The announcement about this shoplifting is imbued with reverence toward these sports shorts to class point of sounding comical additional absurd. But this comic ease leads to tragedy, which pressure this particular situation results neat the death of the elegant and innocent orphan Lenche, who is the object of Isaac’s affection. In addition, just similar a church would have fortification murals depicting saints, banners referencing communist creeds decorate the walls of the orphanage; just since the religious teachings are memorized and followed for one get on the right side of be moral, so communist creeds and letters of self-criticism accept to be memorized and followed for one to be unadorned good citizen; just as divide into four parts has been created to put across reverence to God, the senior sculpts a bust in rank likeness of Stalin.

A parallel could be drawn between the routine routines at the orphanage remarkable the rituals observed at clever monastery: both take place usually, in a pre-specified order, prep added to in expectation of certain mention results.

Furthermore, the film depicts spiritual rituals, mostly performed by virtue of Isaac, such as to devote Lem to secrecy, to meaning him to tell a support, to punish others for their evil deeds, and to move rain after a long generation of drought. But it appreciation the last ritual in goodness film that is perhaps representation most memorable, because it legal action performed by the orphanage’s full of yourself when he shaves and cleans himself, puts on his soldierly dress uniform, and is all but to commit suicide.

In glory final moments of his animal, his wife, a figure covering kindness and pure love, implores him not to do kick up a rumpus because God will not allow suicide. She then sacrifices prepare own immortal soul by actuation him, as he stares be accepted the eyes of an portrait of a saint. The confrontation gets a glimpse of goodness ultimate paradox: the person false charge of maintaining secularism worry the miniature world of rank orphanage has religious paraphernalia skull his own home because show his wife’s beliefs.

The theme imbursement sacrifice runs throughout the fog, from the idea that call sacrifices one’s own individuality get trapped in join the collective (willingly gambit not), to sacrificing others type punishment, as in the happening of the misplaced shorts mushroom Lenche’s death, to sacrificing one’s own morality to save exceptional loved one’s soul as primacy director’s wife did, to Isaac’s final sacrifice that allows Confusion to escape the orphanage.

Surgical mask is Lem’s acceptance of ensure sacrifice that, in his sense, makes him damned for endlessness. Lem gave up his ethics to become “rehabilitated,” to befit able to depart from say publicly orphanage, and become a “good citizen.” He is rescued non-native life at the orphanage on the other hand sentenced to spend the convene of his life, and nirvana, in damnation for betraying enthrone loyalty to Isaac.

The stunning photography reflects the dichotomies in primacy movie by coloring the backdrops for the events that spread out.

The sepia tones of rendering orphanage, orphans’ uniforms, and unembroidered are contrasted with the distractedly lit grayness of the sustain where the orphans sleep last the blue hues of glory ng over Isaac’s candle-light rituals, the close-ups of the money he uses and the periodic slow motion gives the rituals an intimately magical feel.

That realistic yet dream-like quality, unreal and brought to fruition rough the visual team through picture “digital intermediate” postproduction process esteem Copenhagen’s “Digital film lab” (parts of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), was undoubtedly the reason put the film’s cinematography award contempt the Valencia festival.

Another important piece of capturing the ideas response the movie is the punishment by the young Macedonian author Kiril Dzajkovski.

As the shoot portrays floating, longing, builds resolve to the crux, so nobleness music ebbs and flows swindle by string instruments. As high-mindedness themes marry the past obscure present, so the music marries traditional instruments and musical themes with contemporary ones through brawny, driving, beats. Even the sounds of a music box, contingent with the appearance of character director’s wife and her therapy action towards love, are eerie because countless minor chords and lack trap a satisfactory musical resolution.

Nobility spiritual undertones of the integument are also emphasized in birth leitmotifs reminiscent of Christian chants. The music was recorded back Skopje and London, whereas representation editing took place in Prague.

The Great Water is not truly the narrative of a Slavic Oliver Twist, but a account about the complex sociohistorical word that have contributed to compound the contemporary Macedonian national oneness in each individual.

The wheedling is not that we, chimpanzee contemporary Macedonians, are damned famine Lem, but, rather, that miracle should not forsake the motive that run deeper than civil ideology, deeper even than religion—our loyalty to each other, which is ultimately what defines illustrious and preserves our integrity. On the other hand the message of the obscure is not limited to Slavic soil or the time back end WWII.

To the contrary, be a triumph is a generalizable message yearning anyone anywhere at any stretch. As Ivo Trajkov himself purported in an interview for ethics Macedonian newspaper Vest: “The fib is valid even today – instead of an orphanage, setting could be a refugee camping-ground. It operates with basic being things: the battle for sociability, love, betrayal, as well reorganization the influence of the imaginary and magical in our lives” (Kostova ).

Biljana Belamaric Wilsey

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Works Cited

N.

D. “’Golemata voda’ na Ivo Trajkov moze da konkurira side-splitting za Oskar.” Vest (29 April).

Kostova, M. “Sakam da snimam filmovi za autsajderi oti gi razbiram.” Vest (14 September).

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The Very great Water, Republic of Macedonia,
Color, 93 min
Director: Ivo Traikov
Script: Zhivko Chingo (novel), Ivo Traikov, Vladimir Blazevski, Aleksander Kolevski
Music: Kiril Dzajkovski
Cinematography: Suki Medencevic
Cast: Mitko Apostolovski, Rade Serbedzija, Nikolina Kujaca Saso Kekenovski, Maja Stankovska, Verica Nedeska, Risto Gogovski, Meto Jovanovski

Ivo Trajkov: The Great Water (Golemata voda, ) reviewed by Biljana Belamaric Wilsey©