The Serbian filmmaker from Sarajevo Emir Kusturica received recently in Paris the France’s Order of the Knight of Arts and Literature of the first degree by the French Minister of Culture, Rennaud Donnadieu de Vabres. After this great event, Kusturica is the third personality from former Yugoslavia to receive such an order, along with writer Danilo Kis and the Serbian painter Vladimir Velickovic .
For years already, Kusturica has left a deep trace in the European cinematography with his more than picturesque movies such as Undeground (a film based on a book by Dusan Kovacevic ) and When Father Was Away on Business, films that brought him the prestigeous price of the Golden Palm in Cannes. But not only these movies are his most important ones. Do You Remember Dolly Bell?, Time of the Gypsies, Arizona Dream, etc are films that have proven him as well to be a master in filmmaking.
Besides making films, Kusturica invested in preserving the culture and traditions of the Zlatibor region by creating the tourist attraction Mecavnik for which he received the Philippe Rotthier European Architecture Award.
What caused however, controversy on kusturica was his baptism and the change of his name to Nemanja. Most of his critics are from the so-called “Civil Sector”.
Whatever criticism he receives, Emir (Nemanja) Kusturica with all his awards remains one of our greatest and most famous film makers, but also one of the greatest European filmmakers.
Kusturica awarded with France’s Order of the Knight of Arts and Literature of the first degree
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Well, it’s a nice coincidence, my comment on a previous posting here suggesting you report on this — just some hours before this item went up.
Kusturica is to be lauded for so many things in his field of work. He definitely instills pride for me. But the most remarkable things about him in my opinion are his courage to leave Bosnia and his logic in why he did it. Not everyone has the ability to think so clearly. For that matter, not everyone has the ability to think, period. I adore him! And I think he should be asked to be the Serbian Ambassador to the world. God knows he would be a much better spokesperson than some we’ve seen from Serbia.
Blackbird, actually I was already prepared to post it, but your comment preceded me. Cheers.
Kusturica is one of the personalities that positions us on the cultural map of Europe, for that I appreciate him, as well as for his great movies. The people that criticize him should be aware of his achievements and his recognitions/awards all over Europe. Not to mention his efforts to preserve our culture and traditions.
I wish Serbia had more patriotic people like Kusturica. He should be a role model of how one can contribute to Serbia.
Greetings!!!!
Ivan
Wow, how did I miss his name change??? I’ve never heard anybody refer to him as Nemanja… Surely he could have changed his religion without changing his name as well.
Kusturica brings to my mind conflicting emotions. I see a guy who has it half right but is so stuck in the old model of ‘Balkanism’. Ethnic group more important than individual identity, one must choose what ‘one’ is. One cannot just choose to be, one must fit into somebody elses already existing category.
Of course the half he has right is the globalism issue. He (and many other nation statists or nationalists) overlook the real issue of globalism – the way that multinationals are making the decisions and are usurping authority from elected officials making the people redunant. A dose of nationalism or revival of tradition will not prevent multinationals from continuing their march forward. For as long as people participate in the capitalist system, make films for a profit, pay to watch movies etc the global melting pot is inevitable. We are ALL complicit – not just the ‘traitors’!
What cant be disputed is that Kustrurica is an excellent filmmaker. I’m keen to see what other movies Kusturica will make. The man is clearly intelligent so perhaps he may move on from the domestic movies about conflict and gypsies and confront the Serbian and international audiences on their complicity on the globalist issue rather than romanticising the old. If one looks at his past film efforts there is definately a trend (as Cvijus mentions) When Father was away on business and Dolly Bell were completely different movies to the 90’s blood themes that Kusturica filmed. Thus he is more than capable of making quite a radical change if he chooses.
So Emir (or Nemanja) lets go with part 3 of your carear and make it the best part yet. Expose the lot of them, your supporters, opponents and yourself for the hypocrites we all are!
Bg Anon,
Kusturica in one interview reffered to himself as internationalist, not as globalist. What I understood from his definitions is that globalism means something like a melting pot in which individual national/ethnic identities assimilate themselves into a “global” identity. However, according to him, internationalism is the coexistense of identities. To picture that, through my experiences in Greece i realized that both modern and traditional identities can coexist, which for me would be the ideal solution for Serbia. Through his undertakings with the ethno village I see Kusturica as an important contributor in achieving that.
Cvijus,
I did say it was a COINCIDENCE. A nice coincidence. I wasn’t taking credit. Thanks again for the posting, though.
Blackbird, I agree it was a nice coincidence, but hey, let’s agree on something, such news are great and it would be a pity not to write something about it
Cheers
It sure is!
Would you please not link to me any more?
John
http://byzantinesacredart.com/blog/
Serbia’s Knight
As of Thursday, February 8, Serbia has another Knight, a highly esteemed movie director Emir Kusturica. French Minister of Culture Rennaud Donnadieu de Vabres has awarded world renowned Serbian director with France’s Order of the Knight of Arts and Literature of the first degree — Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
This is the highest French recognition for achievements in arts and culture, honoring those who have “significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance.” The medal was given to Kusturica as an acknowledgement of his professional achievements in France.
Minister De Vabres said that with this recognition France wanted to express its affection and admiration to Kusturica and appreciation of his entire artistic opus that, along with movies, includes his music band Zabranjeno pusenje, documentary films and the magnificent ethno village he has built in Serbia.
“Kusturica is a great artist who carries within all that Europe represents today — positive values, drama, tragedy. He is the artist of exquisite power and ingenious mind,” the French Minister of Culture pointed out.
Before Kusturica, Serbian artist Vladimir Velickovic and writer Danilo Kis were also recipients of this decoration.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of culture and foreign ministries of France and Serbia as well as Serbian Ambassador to France Predrag Simic and Director of the Serbian Cultural Centre in Paris Zivadin Mitrovic.
Kusturica and Coppola Only
Born in Sarajevo, capital of former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1954, Emir Kusturica graduated from the Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 1978. Extravagantly brilliant, Kusturica almost immediately became one of the most creative cinema directors during the 1980s and 1990s, and the only director other than Francis Ford Coppola to have won the Cannes Palme d’Or twice.
Among his numerous awards is also the Best Director award at Cannes Film Festival in 1989 for Time of Gypsies, Golden Lion in Venice Film Festival in 1981 for his first movie Do You Remember Dolly Bell?, a Silver Bear at Berlin Film Festival in 1993 for Arizona Dream, and a Best European Union Film at César Awards in 2005 for Life is a Miracle.
From Emir to Nemanja
Although born of Muslim parents, on Đurđevdan (St. George’s Day) 2005 Emir decided to correct the historical anomaly and return to his roots and the faith of his ancestors by being baptized into the Serbian Orthodox Church under the christened Serbian name of Nemanja, in Dormition Monastery near Herceg Novi.
While for Kusturica this represented an act of reclaiming his true origins and reaffirming his identity, among his critics and opponents it was equated with the final betrayal. Bosnian Croat Mile Stojic commented: “… it shall be written that Kusta was the first Orthodox Christian in modern history whose father’s name was Murat.”
Emir responded:
My father was an atheist and he always described himself as a Serb. OK, maybe we were Muslim for 250 years, but we were Orthodox before that and deep down we were always Serbs, religion cannot change that. We only became Muslims to survive the Turks.
Ethno village Serbian most imaginative director has built on Tara Mountain, in the heart of Serbia.
From Paris and New York to Serbia’s Mecavnik
While filming a movie Life is a Miracle in Serbia, Emir noticed the beauty of the Mecavnik hill three thousand feet up on Tara Mountain, and decided to build a village there. Fiachra Gibbons of Guardian describes the visit to this unique place:
What started as a couple of salvaged traditional wooden houses 18 months ago, on a bluff above the spectacularly beautiful Mokra Gora valley in western Serbia, has mushroomed into a modern take on the great monastery-universities of the middle ages. The village is equipped with a library, Serbia’s most advanced cinema and, most incongruously of all, an underground basketball arena — a tribute to the three world championships won by the former Yugoslavia. For Küstendorf, as he calls the place, is also a hymn to Serbian cultural achievement and traditional living [...]
The focal point of Küstendorf (also known as Drvengrad, or WoodsTown), which is every bit as rustic, poetic and miraculous as Kusturica’s films, is Serbian Orthodox church dedicated to the first Serbian Archbishop and the father of Serbian nation, St. Sava. The church Kusturica built in the center of his village has been consecrated on St. Archangel’s Day in 2003 and dedicated to the great Serbian saint in January 2004, by the Bishop of Zica of Serbian Uzice Diocese, His Grace Hrizostom.
P.S. Kusturica Deserves a Medal From Serbia Too
If for nothing else, Kusturica deserves another medal for being a greater Serbian patriot than some of those who have been born in Serbia, of Serbian Orthodox parents. The fact Soros’ anti-Serbian propaganda tool operating in Serbia — B92 — television program is expressly prohibited in coffee-shops, bars and public places in Küstendorf, because B92 is “treacherous and Serb-hating” nest “working directly against Serbian interests” is sufficient, in and of itself, for Serbia to award him, today.
That’s the kind of guy you need when men with no chest fill the earth with chicken shit.
Kusta is great director, but i think his view on politics is very one-dimensional.
I think that what I’ve read to date of your point of view makes you seem one dimensional. Kusturica shows a level of depth in his thinking that comes from real integrity, something that seems currently in short supply in the whole of the former Yugoslavia, or at least in the governments that rule the various parts.
bganon:
“Kusturica brings to my mind conflicting emotions. I see a guy who has it half right but is so stuck in the old model of ‘Balkanism’. Ethnic group more important than individual identity, one must choose what ‘one’ is. One cannot just choose to be, one must fit into somebody elses already existing category.”
What are you talking about? Kusturica’s more “cosmopolitan” (whatever that means) than all those “moderni”, “druga Srbija” morons put together. And everyone needs an identity – whether that be Serb, Bosnian, Muslim, or as a “poor persecuted representative of ‘modern values’ and ‘anti-facism’ who perchance was born in Serbia’” (as many of the aforementioned view themselves
) And it’s very well for you to criticise him, but maybe you’d have a different opinon if you had been driven out of your city and country? И за крај, what’s wrong with “Balkanism”? Being dismissive of “Balkanism” means buying into the same retarded Western mindset which views everything outside the West as funny, exotic or barbaric.
Anyway, the guy’s a great filmmaker and I can only hope that he makes more films as good as When Father Was Away on Business and Underground
Also, apparently Miroslav Changalovic received this award according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miroslav_Changalovic), not just the three named in this post. Anyone know anything about it?
Funny, B92 hasn’t had any news on this event, Kustas award from France. As much as some “modernist” criticize Kusta, he has been awarded by a modern state, namely France. As much as people criticise him for being anti-western, the same West is recognizing him for his contributions in the film arts, but also for his Küstendorf project. Another thing that annoyes me is that he is criticised for converting to Orthodoxy, but if he converted to Catholicism or Islam he would be applauded from them. This lies completely on their racist attitudes to Orthodoxy.
Viktore, I don’t agree with you that he is one-dimensional. Ok, maybe to some extend. But comparing him with B. Srbljanovic, N. Prokic and little Ceda, Kusta seems to me to be much more open-minded.
I agree Cvijus. However, Kusturica doesn’t seem at all one-dimensional to me. In fact, a fascinating biopic could be made of his life. A Sarajevo bum who almost fell off the rails, who went on to win the Palme d’Or twice. A Muslim Serb who converted to Orthodoxy and plays to sell out crowds with his and Nele’s band all around the world. A film director and musician who built a traditional village only to win an architectural award for it… Come on, if you’re objective his achievements put all the desperate, intolerant modern, ‘European’, ‘intellectuals’ in Serbia in the shade (Srbljanovic et al). Kusturica, in my eyes, is the epitome of what Serbia could (and should) have been if the Communists hadn’t come to power and left us their wonderful legacy (Milosevic, Kandic, Seselj, Srbljanovic, &etc, they’re all a result of Communism). A Serbia that is respected, because it respects itself.
By the way, this was on B92, although it was very easy to miss:
link 1
link2
Estavisti if you want it to be political then it can be:
‘maybe you’d have a different opinon if you had been driven out of your city and country?’
I dont remember Kusturica being driven out of Bosnia (as many Bosnians of all backgrounds were) – he chose to leave. And he chose to support one side, which is ok but it was his free choice – nobody forced him to do it. Lets not make him sound like a victim – I’m sure he would agree that many people suffered much, much more through the war than he did.
I dont necesarrily fault his taking money from TV Bastille to fund his movies but I do think his friendship with Jovica Stanisic is at best, misplaced. Like most of us Kusturica has made a lot of decisions, some better and some worse. I dont see the need for hero worship though. Like anybody else, he is not above criticism. If we are talking about him from a political perspective then we should discuss these things.
His movies are another matter. As I said he is unquestionably a very talented director and storyteller. He deserves acclaim for his movies although again I want him to move on from the 1990’s genre. I feel quietly confident that he will move forward on this.
“And everyone needs an identity”. Thats for everyone to decide, it aint our decision. Its more than likely that there are a few people out there who arent interested in ethnic identity. (Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m assuming you mean ethnic / national identity). Personally I dont mind what one claims one is or one isnt for that matter. If the individual is a good guy it makes no difference what ethnic identity a person happens to be. It is, by the way, my understanding that Kusturica only ‘needed’ to change his religous / ethnic? identity because he felt under pressure to choose ‘between Rome, Istanbul and Moscow’ in light of events in Bosnia. Thats what he said in an interview last year at any rate. Why didnt he need the Serb identity until then if everybody needs it as you say?
The statement I made – the ‘old model of Balkanism’ may be generalised but is a reference to the tendancy of the old mindset to place too great an importance on ethnic identity, or accident of birth if you prefer. What one chooses to do in life is far more important and says much more about a person than where the person was born or what religion he is. I believe this firmly – and think (I may be wrong?) you agree.
That tendancy of course is not Balkan specific. But this slightly obsessive characteristic (Noz by Draskovic is another interesting example of this train of thought) claiming that one suffers from some kind of phsychosis, madness or is lost without a defined ethnic identity to my mind bears little resemblence to reality. If one has a stong sense of personal identity it wont matter which ethnic group one belongs to.
Blackbird speaking of B92 they made the front page today. They stand accused of racism. More precisely there was a talk show program with some gyspies / roma. A number of text messages were sent and shown including:
‘Most gypsies receive social support, uncontrollably breed and we dont have any use for them’
‘What will we do with gyspies that kill Serbs”
“Why do they hide gypsy crimes”
“How many Serbs are there in the Indian Parliament”
And the classic:
“Has any gypsy answered for (war) the crimes against Serbs in NDH Croatia” – in the second world war!
Just goes to show, obviously not all viewers of B92 consider themselves anti Serbian. And it would seem that B92 doesnt ‘sanitise’ its TV station quite as much as critics (who dont watch) think.
The Radio Diffusion Agency say they will look into what happened and if necessary sanction B92 for hate speech.
No, my main problem with B92 is the dumbing down. Not enough quality programmes anymore.
Estavisti, I made a mistake for missing the news on B92, I’m sorry. However, the represented so poorly, that one could miss it quite easily. And it’s a pity since this is realy a great honor for all of us, since everybody is representative of its nation, thus Kusturica is giving a possitive image of us in Europe. When I say that we are all representatives of our nations, I mean that through our individual behavior others, not familiar with the nation, may build up perceptions of what a nation can be. I experienced something like that many times.
When it comes to Srbljanovic, etc. what can I say. I respect her success in Europe, but as a personality I really don’t respect her at all. She and Kandic, Biserko, L. Perovic etc are the people which in other countries would be considered to be completelly crazy. I don’t realy blame Europe for awarding Srbljanovic that much, because what she tells outside (Europe) is completly different what she says inside (Serbia). And her engagement in political activism in my eyes discredits her as a genuine artist.
Cvijus,
I don’t see how anybody can call Kusturica anti-western or how they would attempt to justify such a false statement. He is anything but. As for his “converting to orthodoxy”, that’s not what he did. It seems to me that he reclaimed his birthright and reverted to the orthodox faith that had been taken away by the Turks. His family was originally orthodox and, unlike many Bosnian Muslims with similar origins, Kusturica had the integrity and the guts to recognize publicly how and why he ended up a Muslim and to renounce it when push came to shove and he was finally required to really consider what the war in Bosnia was all about. I think he is very brave and honest and he deserves our admiration, unlike Kandic and the like who continue to operate as Soros’s lackeys and should hide their heads in shame, instead of continuing to push their weight around.
Anon, you’ve missed the point of my comment – not to mention that it was clear I was talking about personal and not ethnic identity (although they clearly overlap).
When I’m one-dimensinal, or any of us here, that’s more-less Ok, cause we’re talking kafana politics here – it’s hardly that anybody takes what we say seriously, and it’s hardly that our opinion will influence great deal of people. It should be the same with Kusturica, because he is director primarely, and not sociologist, ethnologist, politician or anthropologist – he should be making good movies and that’s it. But we have to admit that there is a great deal of people that listen and respect what he has to say about political and social issues too – and that’s why he has to be more careful when giving statements and interviews. For example, i listened to couple of his interviews, and what he is saying is also kafana politics – “Serbs look for their opinion in Russia, Croats in Vatican and Bosniaks in Istambul” – there are so many dangerous generalisations here. I can’t understand that someone with so many metaphores in his movies sees things so shallow in real life.
His ‘ethno’ village may be a good tourist attraction, but it’s far from being a national cultural heritage or ‘ethno’ – it’s merely his personal (artistic, if you want) view on what our cultural heritage should be, it’s his own amusement park with his own guards and imposed road taxes. Nothing more, nothing less. I would visit it, as i would visit Disney-world.
But to have it supported by the goverment as some kind of ‘national monument’ is a crime against Serbia and it’s culture.
“I dont remember Kusturica being driven out of Bosnia (as many Bosnians of all backgrounds were) – he chose to leave. And he chose to support one side, which is ok but it was his free choice – nobody forced him to do it. Lets not make him sound like a victim – I’m sure he would agree that many people suffered much, much more through the war than he did.”
I read that he was given death threats, his home broken into by thugs and taken over, and his earlier awards stolen and to this day have never been given back.
So he was forced out, and now forced to stay out by the so-called “multicultural” Bosnian Muslims.
Viktor,
I know this thread isn’t about Kosovo, but somehow this sums up more than Kosovo, and the reluctance of those Serbs like you who resent Serbs who are able to see their nation as imperfect but still good, those like you who instead refuse to see Serbdom as anything but something wanting, lacking, inferior — something to be fixed by superior nations — makes it seem appropriate for this thread.
From Gray Falcon blog:
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
“Modern” Morality
Slobodan Antonić writes in Politika (Serbian original here):
… My “favorite” is the argument that says, “This isn’t evil; the sooner we realize it’s actually appropriate, the better off we will be!” Because, you see, “that’s not ours anyway,” and “who has ever actually been there,” and “only priests and romantics care” and “queues in front of foreign embassies are a much bigger problem” and “they are actually doing us a favor,” etc.
But when a NGO elitist says these words, he is really talking about himself. His mouth says “that’s not ours anyway,” but his eyes are betraying his thoughts: “that’s not mine, so I don’t care.” His mouth says “who has ever actually been there?” but his eyes are going “ I have never been there, so why would I care?” His mouth says “only priests and romantics care,” his eyes are saying “I hate priests anyway, one church more or less, all the same to me.” While his mouth says “queues in front of foreign embassies are a much bigger problem,” his eyes are saying “why should I have to wait in those queues because of that damn Kosovo?” He considers it one and the same to “be modern” and “think only of oneself and money,” and is now trying to persuade the rest of us that we should also be “modern,” so we would feel as good as he does.
The hypocrisy of NGO “modernists,” says Antonić, is best tested by the following hypothetical scenario: would they be as willing to give up one of the parking spots reserved for their SUVs, as they are willing to cede Kosovo? Ah, well, that’s different, you see…
This is quotable enough, but Antonić offers another great passage in the same article:
Someone once compared the seizure of Kosovo with rape. The rapists are big and strong, the poor girl could get a beating if she resists too much, and maybe it is really better for her to give in. But for crying out loud, how can anyone say on top of that, “Oh be smart! Maybe they are rapists, but they are rich, powerful, you can’t risk ruining your future relations with the, so don’t dare complain. Think of your future, think of becoming a part of their rich and beautiful society tomorrow. Cry a little, then come back and smile as if nothing happened.”
Can it really be like that? As if nothing had happened? Are you serious about the smiling? What if the boys get a desire to have a little bit of fun again? And what could one possibly say about those who jeer at the unfortunate woman, “Come on, sister, don’t be conservative, the boys are doing you a favor, you need to be modern, enjoy the sex, and especially when the Big Boss goes on top of you. Then you have to be particularly enthusiastic, groan and sigh and scream – Yes! Yes! More!”
Yes, Big Boss likes to be the ladies’ man. But dear Serbia, you don’t have to put on an act for him. Cry freely. And most importantly, remember them all, both those who took their turns with you and those who jeered and cheered. Because one day…
Are you kidding, Slobodan Antonic is appropriate for any thread, especially this text. Reread over and over to get the full effect – it is not often you see such an impotent threat written in such an arrogant ‘Clint Eastwood’ way in our most distingueished newspapers: “Because one day…”
One day what? Slobodan himself is going to go to war to bring Kosovo back? I don’t think so.
” His mouth says “only priests and romantics care,” his eyes are saying “I hate priests anyway, one church more or less, all the same to me.”
So true. However, he should underline that it is the orthodox priests they mean.
I think Antonic should stick analyzing the society of Serbia, as he did, because he is good at it. But when he talks on Kosovo, or anyway high politics, even though mostly I agree with his stance, I don’t like it how he expresses his ideas on it. He could be a respected analyst with an undisputable reputation if he would “civilize” his textes.
Estavisti look back at your taking me to task for my comment you quoted.
It was NOT at all clear that you were talking about personal identity. The quote was about ethnic identity so when you reply ‘everybody needs an identity’ it was pretty normal to assume you were responding to my comment on ethnic identity. Otherwise your comment was as obvious as something like ‘everybody needs air’ – it goes without saying.
But you are right I dont understand the point of your comment. Werent we talking about Kusturica’s political views / films? What has whether I was ethnically cleansed or not have to do with whether Kusturica makes good films or has sound political views?
Cvijus I agree with you about Antonic. He is actually not a bad sociologist and there is scope for agreement with his views. But there is something else as you noted, you mention the way he expresses his ideas, I think its because those with a sense for that kind of thing can smell a rat – in other words I wonder about his motives.
Bganon, you got my point. As I said, his thoughts are good, but they he expresses them (although just in some cases) comes to contrast to his beliefs. I must admit, unfortunatelly he is influenced by the daily politics and adjusted his way of expressing himself to this daily politics. If you take Milan St. Protic as an example, he is a remarkable historian, and would be a great analyst if didn’t enter politics. However, I was pleased that Protic didn’t follow Batic in putting principles aside. Nevertheless, I respect both Antonic and Protic as intellectuals and I hope that they will return to their initial occupations, since from that positions they can be more influential and with more authority than now.
I don’t have your advantage of having read a lot of Antonic, but this particular piece I think expresses very well what I have been reading about events concerning Serbia and the attitudes of some Serbs to those events, especially the attitudes of the influencial ones and their hangers on.
I certainly think its essential to keep one self upto date.