Mirko Kovač became one of the more prominent writers in Yugoslavia by writing content that was drawing the ire of Communist authorities, often resulting in semi-official bans and public controversies. That included even his work as a screenwriter, most notably in Occupation in 26 Pictures. When Yugoslavia collapsed Kovač, who had spent most of his career in Belgrade, became vocal critic of the nationalist regime of Slobodan Milošević and the war, ultimately settling in Croatia. By ironic twist, just as it was happening, Serbian state television in 1992 had adapted his novel into Another Life a.k.a. Introduction to Another Life, film directed by Miloš “Miša” Radivojević.
The unnamed protagonist of the film is a writer (played by Zoran Cvijanović) who is suffering from creative bloc. His professional problems begin to reflect on the relationship with girlfriend Petra Sakra (played by Sonja Savić). As a result, he gets visited by her father Captain Rodin (played by Aleksandar Berček), former agent of UDBA, Yugoslav secret police. Rodin begins to tell him his bizarre life story which began after Second World War and Communist takeover.
More cynical viewers might find the simple answer why state media adapted the work of an author who was one of the regime’s most outspoken critics. Another Life is, to put it bluntly, made in a way that would make people think very hard before they dare to read any book written by Mirko Kovač. Much of the dialogues are nothing more than quasi-intellectual drivel. Miša Radivojević, whose 1981 anti-establishment drama The Promising Boy gained something of a minor cult status, tries to mimic Kovač’s unorthodox literary style with unorthodox cinema techniques that turn Another Life into another pretentious and ultimately unwatchable art film. Some of the elements of the film, on the other hand, represent harsh criticism of former Yugoslav Communist leader Tito, who became favourite target of Serbian nationalists in late 1980s and 1990s and whose decades-long rule was often seen as the source of everything wrong in Serbia. The viewers unfamiliar with troubled 20th Century history of ex-Yugoslav countries would, on the other hand, most likely miss this dimension of the film. At the end of the day, they would do themselves much service if they miss this film altogether.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
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