TIME WITHOUT WAR (Âðåìå áåç âî¼íà)
Movie from: 1969
Duration: 80 minutes
Director: Branko Gapo Ivanovski
Screenplay: Simon Drakul
Leading Roles: Shishman Angelovski, Neda Arneric, Kiril Cortoshev, Darko Damevski, Slobodan Dimitrievic, Aco Jovanovski
Content: Fidan is a young man who lives and works in the town. His father Dicho is a peasant who was a fighter both in the war
and in the revolution as well. After the war he supports the idea for collectivization and industrialization of the villages in general. Being
sincerely persuaded in those ideas he works on it, but he is often confronted with most of village fellows, and most eagerly by Lazar, his
closest friend, and adopted brother. After the failure of the cooperative movement, Dicho leaves the village. Soon he dies and his son Fidan
fulfills his father's last wish burying him in his native village. Being there Fidan tries to find himself in the new circumstances, in the
new pursuit of cattle-breeding which is a great challenge for him, as well in making new contacts with the people of the village. He falls in
love with a girl, named Blaguna, who is Lazar's daughter and soon she becomes his wife. Although he is exposed to the mistiness of his village
fellows, Fidan is occupied by sheep raising with all his enthusiasm. However, trade laws are severe and disfavorable, and in such circumstances
it is not possible for him to realize purposes and projects. Fidan's return to his father's home brings him neither spiritual peace that he was
looking for nor new contents in his lifestyle.
Resume: The increased number of full-length feature films is tightly connected to the new production association. The independent
filmmakers began in stetting film associations as a new and more open way of film production. In this way the bulky administrative and technical
apparatus was eliminated. These new forms were also influenced by some of the demands of the short film production. After a sequence of vain and
deserted attempts, the first project was accomplished. It was "Time Without War" directed by Branko Gapo, his second film; with the screenplay
written by Simon Drakul. The film was a logical follow-up of Branko Gapo's interests and his obsession with life and time, striving to strip
them of actual appearance but adding a remarkably rich connotative complex, consistently modified on the film screenplay gave optimal creative
space for his intentions. It is an original film manuscript with pure almost ascetic dramatic form. It offers more opportunities to reflect in
the picture than do those with emphasized descriptive elements.
The film's narration deals with a young man, named Fidan, whose life is marked by the overpowering force of fate which not only affects him but
also the people he communicates with. It is a film completely concerned with itself and its characters. It is also the first film dealing with
people's intimacy, placed within the contemporary media space and because of this in a different aspect of genres. The dramatic structure of the
film is mainly esoteric, overflowed by specifics indicating that the represented life fragments are fated moments of the characters' existence.
In respect of the performance Gapo shows a surprisingly mature instinct and assembles an excellent team. Slobodan Dimitrievic, Darko Damevski,
Neda Arneric, Shishman Angelovski, Dimitar Geshovski, Kiril Cortoshev, Nada Geshovska, Vukosava Doneva, Sabina Ajrula, Ljuba Tadic, Zafir
Hazhimanov, and all the rest did their best in this film. Astonishingly brilliant are the artistic expressions of the film, achieved by
Petkovski, the director of photography, and Gunter Kube, the art director, both of them striving towards a surrealistic vision of the space
deprived by the cameraman's influence.
The music composed by Toma Proshev confirms its function and its belonging to the picture, all the time remaining in the background and in
harmony with the scene. "Time Without War" surprises with its multistratified kinesthetic qualities. It is also relevant because it signifies
the beginning of the decentralization of Macedonian film production.
Awards:
1969 FYFF, Pula, Special Diploma for direction / Branko Gapo
1969 FF, Nish, Award for young actor / Neda Arneric
1969 Prize "13-th November" for direction of this film / Branko Gapo
1972 IFF, Avelino, The Silver Medal "Targa d'Argento"
Sources: Macedonian Cinema Information Center and Cinemateque of Macedonia.
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