THE RENAISSANCE OF PUBLISHING?

Synthesis with prejudices

Daniel J. Goulding, 2004, Liberated cinema — Yugoslav Film Experience, 1945-2001, Zagreb: V. B. Z.

Zagreb publisher V. B. Z. started a series of books on film, chosing the esteemed film critic Jurica Pavicic for the job of series' editor. The first title in the series was the book about the production of socialist Yugoslavia, with a short appendix concerning the period after the dissolution of that country. The choice of theme for the first book was very good, but the author, his work and the editorial contribution are nowhere near that qualification. Similar to Škrabalo’s history of Croatian cinema, esthetic views in Goulding’s book are part of a wider insight into society. Their common trait is the evolutionist understanding of history with the apex in modernism, Goulding however ignors completely films about »partizani« resistance. Despite some flaws, Goulding gives a specific and interesting overview of political-ideological-cinema system of the socialist Yugoslavia, but with a slight inclination towards the Serbian side — for example, Golik’s film Those Who Sing Mean no Harm (Tko pjeva zlo ne misli) is not mentioned even in the selected filmography. Goulding often makes factual mistakes and is not too precise when retelling plots. The editor Pavicic corrected only some mistakes and his criteria were not very transparent (for example, he did not sign his article mentioned by Goulding). Still, Goulding’s book could serve as a handsome manual and a reminder.

Damir Radić