23/05/2008 04:01

Zaseda (Ambush) in Retrospective of a Domestic Author

SFRJ, 1969, 76 min
Direction: Živojin Pavlović
Cast: Alenka Rančić, Branislav Milićević, Branko Obradović, Dragomir Felba, Dušan Tadić, Ivica Vidović, Ljubomir Ćipranić, Marija Milutinović, Marko NIkolić, Milena Dravić, Milorad Majić, Mirjana Blašković, Pavle Vuisić, Rastislav Jović, Severin Bijelić, Slobodan Aligrudić
Awards: Golden Lion in Venice Festival, 1969.
Selection: Retrospective of a Domestic Author

Black and white drama with a theme of post-war reconstruction of the country follows the story that goes after liberation of Yugoslavia from the fascism, and the stories of people who survived the war and destruction.
A young Dalmatian, whose parents were killed by Italians, comes to his relative to Serbia to get some education. He tries to present himself as a party activist, believing he serves higher goals and the ideals of the revolution. In order to fully dedicate himself to the reconstruction, he joins Ozna, but leaves it shortly after, disappointed by the careerists. Due to a misunderstanding, he gets into a fight with the village police, and then, a typical Pavlović’s ending follows – a tragedy.

Pavlović himself claimed that the term black wave came to existence in that 1969, during a meeting of Ideological Commission of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia that, shocked with the seen, decided to permanently ban public projections of Zaseda (Ambush). Furthermore, Pavlović was marked as unsuitable for the community, so he was forced to work in Slovenia for the next ten years, with the exception of Hajka (Hunt) that he made on Zlatibor. However, as the answer of international public and the great recognition to the author, a punch in the face came to the authorities in SFRJ – Pavlović was awarded in the prestigious film festival in Venice in the same year with the main award – Golden Lion.