Cinema
When I Am Dead and Gone
Кад будем мртав и бео
Živojin Pavlović · 1967
Synopsis
Janko Bugarski, known as Džimi Barka, a smooth-talking young drifter, lives on seasonal work and small schemes. Dismissed from his job, he wanders through the Serbian provinces, with their dilapidated workers' towns, collective farms and village festivals, takes advantage of everyone he meets, goes from one woman to another, from Lilica to Duška, and gets it into his head to become a singer, with no compass and no real ambition.
Context
The film, written by Ljubiša Kozomara and Gordan Mihić, with Dragan Nikolić in the lead role, was released in December 1967. Its title comes from a line by the German poet Wolfgang Borchert. Awarded prizes in 1968 at Pula and Karlovy Vary, it was also honoured in Athens in 1995, and the Yugoslav Film Archive ranked it second among the country's best films, behind Ko to tamo peva. It was restored and shown at the Berlinale in 2018.
Who it is for
Seventy-nine minutes in black and white, with no character to become attached to. It is worth knowing that the Yugoslavia of 1967 officially presented itself as a success.
Prizes and reception
Grand Golden Arena at Pula and first prize at Karlovy Vary in 1968, fourth of the hundred Serbian films classified as cultural property in 2016.