Sofka (1948)

After four movies glorifying the exploits of the Yugoslav Partisans, we arrive at the first post-1945 Yugoslav feature film based on other themes:  "Sofka," produced by Avala film in 1948.  Directed by Radoš Novaković (1915-1979), "Sofka" was based on the novel Nečista krv (Impure Blood), which was written by the Serb author Borisav Stanković (1876-1927) in 1910.  The title of the film stems from the name of the female protagonist in this classic novel of Serbian literary realism.

Radoš Novaković was the grandson of Stojan Novaković, a Serb prime minister in the early 20th century, historian, and president of the Royal Serb Academy.  Radoš Novaković, who had been very culturally active in interwar Yugoslavia and written extensively about culture, was a Partisan during World War II.

The lead role is played by Vera Gregorić (1926-2006).  As the film opens, we are transported to Vranje (in present-day southern Serbia) in January 1876, on the eve of its "liberation" from Ottoman rule.  Vranje was the birthplace of Stanković.

The mood in the movie remains dark and claustrophic until the Ottomans are expelled from the town relatively early in the movie.  The new atmosphere is symbolized with light and festivities at a fair, with the Serbian flag wafting against a partly cloudy sky as peasants dance a folk dance.  Yet all is not well in "free" Vranje, as is suggested by the sudden storm that disrupts the fair with rain and wind.  Much of the compelling nature of Stanković's novel in fact stems from his depiction of the harsh social realities of post-Ottoman Serbia.  Contrary to popular hopes and expectations, "national liberation" is not a panacea, socioeconomic problems abound, and daily life brings challenges and hardships.   One cannot help but wonder whether the director and the producer had the challenges of post-World War II Yugoslavia in mind when they chose to make this film. This is in many ways a timeless message, as the nations of Yugoslavia discovered again in the 1990s.

Like the rest of Vranje, Sofka is initially quite happy, as we see in this screenshot.

But Sofka slowly learns that her relatively wealthy family is in a state of economic decline, despite her mother's attempts to keep this knowledge from her.  In an attempt to help her family, Sofka agrees to be sold as a wife to the adolescent son of a rich merchant family.  Yet as her husband-to-be matures, he begrudges Sofka her participation in this trade.  Despite his love for Sofka, this makes the situation a bittersweet one, and Sofka is isolated from the environment in which she flourished as a young girl.

The film is notable for its portrayal of Serbian society immediately after Ottoman rule, and the language, customs and clothing all tell of a society making a journey from "Oriental" to European customs.  On the day of Sofka's wedding, she and her female acquaintances go for a ritual bath at the hamam, a scene depicted in great detail in the novel.

An inordinate amount of time is taken up by the wedding scenes in the film.  Here we see Sofka and her young groom eyeing each other with trepidation.

After the wedding, Novaković gives us an aerial shot of the wedding guests leaving the church, with Sofka and her family taking one path, while her own family goes its separate way.  In this thoroughly patriarchal society, Sofka now belongs completely to her new family, and her attachment is shown when she kisses the hand of her mother-in-law.  While her new family rejoices, Sofka looks miserable and stoic.  This is mirrored in the final scene of the film, when Sofka, clad in black, sits and silently cries in her loneliness.

This is a real historical costume drama, and it is certainly worth seeing for its place as the first postwar Yugoslav film not focused on the Partisans.  Yet it somewhat fails to persuade as a convincing drama, and is significantly below the standard of the first four post-1945 films.  "Nečista krv" was made into a film a second time many decades later in 1996.

"Sofka" is available on DVD.