ANTE BABAJA (1927-2010) (1)

The structure of The Lost Home Country

The Lost Home Country (Izgubljeni zavičaj, 1980) by Ante Babaja was created in cooperation with author Slobodan Novak as an adaptation and reconstruction of Novak's novella of the same name. In terms of its narrative structure, we can discern three time levels – the contemporary, the pre-war and the post-war one. The contemporary level is the narrative framework, the pre-war one is the key dramaturgical segment, while the post-war one represents the transitional period when the protagonist leaves his homeland. The father-son relationship is the skeleton of this extraordinary film. At the same time, this is the film that investigates space, specifically the exterior. Furthermore, it is characterized by picturesque imaging evident in each of its narrative segments. The film has ethnographic and historical values, it employs music and scattered mythical implications. Undoubtedly, The Lost Home Country is one of Ante Babaja’s best films, which makes it also one of the best films of Croatian cinema.

Tomislav Čegir