THE MOUNTAIN OF WRATH (Ïëàíèíàòà íà ãíåâîò)
Movie from: 1968
Duration: 81 minutes
Director: Ljubisha Georgievski
Screenplay: Ante Popovski
Leading Roles: Darko Damevski, Dragomir Felba, Nada Geshovska, Branislav Jerenic, Petre Prlichko, Risto Shishkov, Olivera Vucho
Content: After the Second World War and the liberation of the country as well as after the victory of the socialist revolution,
a time of rebuilding and recovery comes. It is a time for insisting on collectivization of the peasant's estates. New ideas for developing of
agriculture and cattle breeding are trying to spread over in the western part of Macedonia, too. The president of the peasant's cooperative
is Stamat, a war veteran, who strongly believes in and works on collectivization as the only way and decision for the poor peasant. On this
view for a the better future he clashes with the resistance of the richer peasants who are not willing at all to give up their own land.
Opposed to that, Stamat is also faced with the decision of the Country Committee to take over then and give it to the limber industry. The
peasants consider the mountains their own property and as a resource of existance. Stamat’s resistance and attempts to change the decision
are unsuccessful. He feels that his revolutionary ideal is brutalized because of someone's bureaucracy's decisions. In such circumstances, he
is also faced with the fact that his peasant fellows do not believe him but despite of this he stays on the right side.
Resume: The predicted media changes soon bring some more evident successes in Macedonian film production in respect of its
creativity and organization. The forthcoming filmmakers open a new period. Among them is Ljubisha Georgievski, a theatre director, whose
first film "Under the Same Sky" lacks coherence and conviction. The screenplay of "The Mountain of anger" follows some age-old accepted
dramatic thesis. In this respect it almost encircles Macedonian film poetic tradition. In the foreground is the man placed in the swirling
historical and ideological constant change. The screenplay was written by Ante Popovski, a gifted poet, who vocationally emphasized the theme
with his strong sense of the doomed in the Macedonian traditional way of living. The previous facts connect this text with the contemporary
dramatic interpretations of our tradition. If interpreted from the scene point of view, its myth and magic would be framed in an interesting
structure in which the images would have a more complete dramatic function. On the other hand, the media logic of the film restricts this
interpretative possibility. The paths leading to synthesis of the expression and interpretation may have different results. Georgievski
chooses one of these possibilities shooting "The Mountain of Anger". The plot, a spontaneous dramatic action, is located in a mountain
village in West Macedonia, covering the period immediately after the war. Ruined and thrown into poverty during the war the village begins its
life again, but it still feels the consequences of the recent sufferings. Consequently, the people are found in the same dramatic position.
Their sufferings are over and here, on their own land again, with revived hopes and beliefs in the new life, not prepared for the new
struggles, exhausted by the old fears, the villagers adapt to the freedom not known to them before. Some oppose it, others are frightened. For
all of them the freedom is in fact an enormous temptation. Struggles within these boundaries become existentially inevitable. However, they
lack the classical dramatic meaning, which is defined by the opposition of good, and evil, which is why the actors had a complicated task.
Some outstanding performances were created by Risto Shishkov, Branislav Jerinic, Dragomir Felba, Nada Geshovska, Olivera Vucho, Aco Jovanovski,
Petre Prlichko, Dimitar Geshovski, Darko Damevski and Dragi Kostovski. Another remarkable thing was the collaboration between Ljubisha
Georgievski, the director, Branko Mihajlovski, the cameraman and Nikola Lazarevski, the art director. The predominating mood of inspiration is
deeply felt in the accompanying music cosec by Toma Proshev. Its supposed stylistic genesis, the original approach by the author, subjected to
experimenting with the classical film narration and its complete realization, makes "The Mountain of Anger" a creative experience with
multistratified value for the Macedonian cinematography.
Awards: 1968 FF, Nish, Special Awards / Darko Damevski, Risto Shishkov and Mara Isaja
Sources: Macedonian Cinema Information Center and Cinemateque of Macedonia.
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