Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.17234/Croatica.68.11
ANXIETY AND HOW TO FIGHT IT IN BABAJAʼS FILM ADOPTATIONS OF SLOBODAN NOVAKʼS LITERARY WORKS
Juraj Kukoč
orcid.org/0009-0009-4519-2214
; Hrvatski državni arhiv, Hrvatska kinoteka, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The paper provides an analysis of the narrative and stylistic methods of depicting anxiety and struggle against it in two screen adaptations of the novels by Slobodan Novak, "Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh" ("Mirisi, zlato i tamjan", 1971) and "Lost Homeland" ("Izgubljeni zavičaj", 1980), both directed by the Croatian director Ante Babaja. The psychological and emotional reactions of the protagonists, as well as the stylistic devices of the films have been scrutinized.
In "Lost Homeland", the protagonist feels intense anxiety due to strong disappointment with his father and his own identity. He fights anxiety in a passive way, by escaping into idealized childhood memories that are rendered in the film through lyrical flashbacks. In "Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh", the protagonist leads an anxious, lonely life on an island. His struggle against anxiety is much more active, but this activity is not being done with enthusiasm. Namely, the care of the old aristocratic spinster is not perceived as a noble and inspiring act, but as a masochistic self-punishment; the sexual exploitation of a young apprentice is viewed as an act of desperation, and his intellectual capacity leads him to develop a deeply cynical view of the world.
In both films, the main characters' struggle against anxiety is in vain. In "Lost Homeland", the protagonist's passive indulgence in pleasant childhood memories is self-deceiving and results in even stronger feelings of bitterness and disappointment, while in the film "Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh", the protagonist's actions are not enthusiastic, but destructive and self-punishing. The only successful cure for anxiety is the aesthetic beauty of the films themselves, i.e. the lyrical style of the first film and the pervasive irony of the latter Babaja's film.
Ključne riječi
Ante Babaja; Slobodan Novak; screen adaptation; retrospective narrative; existentialism; anxiety; mental health; altruism; sex
Hrčak ID:
325704
URI
Datum izdavanja:
30.12.2024.
Posjeta: 10 *