Terror and joy: the films of Dušan Makavejev

353 Pages·2009·3.268 MB·English

by  Makavejev, Dušan;Mortimer, Lorraine

terror and joy
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terror and joy
The Films of Dušan Makavejev
orraine ortimer
L M
university of minnesota press
minneapolis london
•
Chapter7was previously published as “Our Carnal Nature and Cosmic Flow: WR Mysteries of the
Organismas a Film for Our Time,” The Massachusetts Review43, no. 1(Spring 2002):107–34;
reprinted with permission from The Massachusetts Review.Chapter9was previously published as
“Pigs and Pearls: Art and Life in Montenegro,”Arena Journal,no. 20(2003):141–66; reprinted with
permission of Arena Journal.
Copyright2009by Lorraine Mortimer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mortimer, Lorraine.
Terror and joy : the films of Dušan Makavejev / Lorraine Mortimer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN978-0-8166-4886-3(hc : alk. paper) — ISBN978-0-8166-4887-0(pb : alk. paper)
1. Makavejev, Dušan—Criticism and interpretation. I. Title.
PN1998.3.M337M672009
791.4302'33092—dc22
2008036911
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
15 14 13 12 11 10 09 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Cass and Declan
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contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1. Dušan Makavejev and His Context 1
2. The Country of Movies 23
3. In Search of Understanding 43
4. The Fire in Us 66
5. With Eggs, Flour, Sugar, and Berries—
and a Certain Dose of Modesty 95
6. Alchemists and Artisans 125
7. Our Carnal Nature and Cosmic Flow 153
Interlude 186
8. The World Tasted 192
9. Pigs, Pearls, and Immigrants 225
10. The Soul Battered 253
Epilogue 281
Notes 285
Filmography of Dušan Makavejev 325
Index 331
acknowledgments
This book is a labor of love; it has been “cooking” for many years since I
wasfirst provoked, puzzled, and captured by WR: Mysteries of the Organism
as a new graduate student. After that initial experience, I discussed Maka-
vejev’s film with a new friend, Michael Matteson, who had seen it five nights
running at our Sydney University Film Group screenings. He knew more
about Yugoslavia and revolutionary politics than I but was unsympathetic
to the ideas of Wilhelm Reich (the “WR” of the film’s title). He found the
film interesting. On the other hand, good friends Bob and Judy Hill, who
saw the film on my recommendation, suggested that the experience was a
bit like trying root beer. I must not have wanted, they thought, to keep such
a dreadful experience to myself but needed others to taste it, too! (Maka-
vejev’s films divided and continue to divide people, but they always make
an impression.) Already full of enthusiasm for Reich, my husband, Chris
Eipper, was fascinated by the film. He had brought Reich into his essays in
various undergraduate subjects, often to the consternation of his teachers. At
that time, he had no idea of the punishment ahead of him—of the required
viewings, “seminars,” and reading of drafts of my work on the Makavejev
films I came to know and care for. Our sons, Declan and Cass, have also
watched and talked about the films and generously read the manuscript and
made valuable suggestions. Thanks to all of them.
Thanks are also due Gary Schliemann, MacGregor Rose, Eden Cooper,
Gabrielle Murray, Rolando Caputo, Lea Campbell, John Miller, Charles
Ambrose, David MacDougall, Yvette Biró, Herbert Eagle, and students to
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