Watch Cinema Komunisto

Cinema Komunisto is a 2010 documentary film directed by Mila Turajlic. It explores the history of Yugoslav cinema and how it influenced the country's communist ideology. The film features interviews with prominent filmmakers from Yugoslavia, including Stevan Petrovic, who was the head of the country's national film archive, and Veljko Despotovic, who worked as a film critic during the time.

The film kicks off with a historical perspective into how the Yugoslav film industry was created. Before the Second World War, filmmaking in Yugoslavia was disorganized, fragmented and often ignored by the cultural establishment. But the Communist Party that came to power after the War set out to create a new kind of cinema that would promote the country's communist ideology. They did so by creating a state-run film industry that was supported by the government and state-owned enterprises, which provided the necessary funding.

The film takes viewers through the development and growth of the Yugoslav film industry from the early days post-world war two, with the emergence of films that celebrated the revolutionary spirit of the communist party, to the 1960s and 70s when Yugoslav cinema was at its peak, producing classic films and iconic actors that would be remembered long after the system that created them had collapsed.

Cinema Komunisto documents how the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu admired the Yugoslav cinema model so much that he imported Yugoslav film personnel to work on a similar project in Romania. The documentary also highlights the influence of the Yugoslav film industry on the film development of other countries, such as Cuba and Egypt.

The documentary features interviews with directors, actors, film critics, archivists, and other crew members from the era. The interviews provide an insight into the process of creating films during Yugoslavia's Communist era, which was fundamentally different from the contemporary film industry. The old filmmakers reminisce of a time when filmmakers had to write scripts according to the ideological and political requirements of the Communist Party. The Party closely supervised the production of the films, and through this, its propaganda message was effectively distributed.

The documentary also highlights the rise of Yugoslav cinema actors of the era, such as Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic, as they reached the height of Yugoslav cinema. They led a lifestyle previously unimaginable to the average Yugoslav citizen. They were given government-sponsored apartments and cars and were celebrated as cultural ambassadors of the country.

Cinema Komunisto is a well-crafted documentary that perfectly captures the golden age of Yugoslav cinema. The documentary is invaluable in documenting a unique experiment in cinematography where the line between creativity and propaganda was blurred. The film has an excellent blend of archive footage and personal interviews that make it an entertaining and informative watch.

In conclusion, Cinema Komunisto will be a fascinating documentary for anyone interested in the history of cinema, especially Yugoslavia's cinema. The documentary offers valuable insights into the unique relationship between film and politics, and how these shaped the development of the Yugoslav film industry. The film also shows how films can be a reflection of a country's political ideology and historical context, and how these can be viewed in retrospect.

Cinema Komunisto is a 2010 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 40 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.8.