Terror and Joy

Terror and Joy

The Films of Dusan Makavejev

Lorraine Mortimer
Table of Contents
PRESS:
Screening the Past review
The Nation review

$25.00 paper
ISBN: 978-0-8166-4887-0

$75.00 cloth
ISBN: 978-0-8166-4886-3

The first book to examine the work of this radical, influential filmmaker.

Dušan Makavejev is a filmmaker, teacher, and intellectual whose films intersect with major historical and political upheavals in Eastern Europe—World War II, the unification and breakup of Yugoslavia, and the fall of communism. Subversive and moving, his films remain touchstones for transcultural and political cinema. Matching the intensity of the films, Lorraine Mortimer takes a radically interdisciplinary approach in this first book-length critical analysis of Makavejev’s work.

Studies in contrasts, Makavejev’s films combine documentary and fiction, tragedy and comedy. Mortimer examines seven of his films made between 1965 and 1994—including Montenegro (1981), Sweet Movie (1974), and WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971)—looking at them historically, politically, and aesthetically and highlighting their implications for the contemporary world.

Both Makavejev’s films and Mortimer’s scrutiny of them are haunted by the specter of apocalyptic revolutionary movements that sacrifice people and the planet in the name of ideologies and idealisms. Mortimer argues that the aesthetic dimension is vital to our conception of old and new tribalisms and, ultimately, our understanding of being in the world.

“An indispensable study of a challenging filmmaker. Each analysis is closely argued, sensitive to the cinematic nuances, and richly allusive to other artists and writers.” —Choice

“Terror and Joy (written with the benefit of some input and communication from Makavejev himself) is a genuinely insightful exploration of the crucial part of a distinctive and important film-maker’s oeuvre. This bracing and intelligently conceived work does precisely what it sets out to do: it powerfully argues that political cinema is not dead, indeed never was ill.” —Australian Book Review

“The book fills a long-felt gap, offering pleasure and a great amount of knowledge.” —Screening the Past

Lorraine Mortimer is a senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University.

336 pages | 25 b&w photos | 6 x 9 | 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Dušan Makavejev and His Context
2. The Country of Movies
3. In Search of Understanding
4. The Fire in Us
5. With Eggs, Flour, Sugar, and Berries—and a Certain Dose of Modesty
6. Alchemists and Artisans
7. Our Carnal Nature and Cosmic Flow

Interlude

8. The World Tasted
9. Pigs, Pearls, and Immigrants
10. The Soul Battered
Epilogue

Notes
Filmography of Dušan Makavejev
Index

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Terror and Joy *The Films of Dusan Makavejev* Lorraine Mortimer Table of Contents PRESS: Screening the Past review The Nation review		$25.00 paper ISBN: 978-0-8166-4887-0 $75.00 cloth ISBN: 978-0-8166-4886-3
The first book to examine the work of this radical, influential filmmaker. Dušan Makavejev is a filmmaker, teacher, and intellectual whose films intersect with major historical and political upheavals in Eastern Europe—World War II, the unification and breakup of Yugoslavia, and the fall of communism. Subversive and moving, his films remain touchstones for transcultural and political cinema. Matching the intensity of the films, Lorraine Mortimer takes a radically interdisciplinary approach in this first book-length critical analysis of Makavejev’s work. Studies in contrasts, Makavejev’s films combine documentary and fiction, tragedy and comedy. Mortimer examines seven of his films made between 1965 and 1994—including Montenegro (1981), Sweet Movie (1974), and WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971)—looking at them historically, politically, and aesthetically and highlighting their implications for the contemporary world. Both Makavejev’s films and Mortimer’s scrutiny of them are haunted by the specter of apocalyptic revolutionary movements that sacrifice people and the planet in the name of ideologies and idealisms. Mortimer argues that the aesthetic dimension is vital to our conception of old and new tribalisms and, ultimately, our understanding of being in the world. “An indispensable study of a challenging filmmaker. Each analysis is closely argued, sensitive to the cinematic nuances, and richly allusive to other artists and writers.” —Choice “Terror and Joy (written with the benefit of some input and communication from Makavejev himself) is a genuinely insightful exploration of the crucial part of a distinctive and important film-maker’s oeuvre. This bracing and intelligently conceived work does precisely what it sets out to do: it powerfully argues that political cinema is not dead, indeed never was ill.” —Australian Book Review “The book fills a long-felt gap, offering pleasure and a great amount of knowledge.” —Screening the Past Lorraine Mortimer is a senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University. 336 pages \| 25 b&w photos \| 6 x 9 \| 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Dušan Makavejev and His Context 2. The Country of Movies 3. In Search of Understanding 4. The Fire in Us 5. With Eggs, Flour, Sugar, and Berries—and a Certain Dose of Modesty 6. Alchemists and Artisans 7. Our Carnal Nature and Cosmic Flow Interlude 8. The World Tasted 9. Pigs, Pearls, and Immigrants 10. The Soul Battered Epilogue Notes Filmography of Dušan Makavejev Index