KULTURA / CULTURA
L egendary author Dušan Kovačević returns to film audiences after a break of 18 years with a comedy that contains elements of a thriller and poses the eternal question – is the end of life also the end of our residence in this world, or does the possibility exist to extend life in some other form? It's Not So Bad to Be Human follows piano pro- fessor Milan (Vojin Ćetković) five years after his godfa- ther, former pop star Ranko Beli (Gordan Kičić), disap- peared under mysterious circumstances. Milan decides to solve the mystery and finally find out what happened to Beli. Failing to find support and understanding among his family members and those around him, Milan de- velops a friendly relationship with a stray dog… To find out what happens next, watch the film, and until then we’re speaking with author Dušan Kovačević… Your absence from film screens has reached adulthood by turning 18. Are you excited? “When calculating the years I spent dealing with film, I concluded that I’ve directed films based on my screenplays every 20 years. A friend jokingly told me that, if I stick to that rhythm, I will next direct a film when I’m 100 years old. The fact is that it was at the be- ginning of the ‘80s that I wrote the script and directed the film Balkan Spy, then I did the same at the begin- ning of the 2000s with The Professional, and now, in 2021, there will be the premiere of the film It's Not So Bad to Be Human. It turns out that this is that 20-year rhythm, which is quite unusual in directing work. Giv- en that directing isn’t my main job, then that’s some- how natural, because my primary profession is writing.” The film It's Not So Bad to Be Human is a story about a friendship between a man facing a major crisis and a dog who has lost a friend. This new friendship will result in something very unusual that resembles a fairy tale INTERVIEW: DUŠAN KOVAČEVIĆ, PLAYWRIGHT Fairy tale of life, death, people and dogs
Psi ipak imaju posebno mesto u vašem ži- votu? – Oni imaju emotivno mesto, jer sam u nekim baš teškim trenucima u životu kod njih nalazio najveće ra- zumevanje. Ja to znam i to nije nikakva mistična priča – svi psi sa kojima sam rastao i družio se znali su šta im pričam. Oni su, naravno, odgovarali lajanjem. Ne- što sam razumeo, a nešto nisam, i ovaj film je o tome. Meni je drago da će oni ljudi koje viđam po pet-šopo- vima, a to je mnogo ljudi, videti jednu lepu priču o veli- kom prijateljstvu s psima, koje postoji već desetinama hiljada godina. Meni je izuzetno žao, i to mi je jedna od potresnijih vesti, kada vidim da je neki bolesnik maltre- tirao ili ubio psa ili bilo koju životinju. Ne volim ljude koji na bilo koji način nanose bol životinjama. Da su ljudi malo normalniji, možda bismo mogli da kažemo da nije loše biti pas? – Ako imate sreće kao pas, onda nije loše biti pas. Ali nažalost, većina pasa ima tu sudbinu da se bori za život i da preživljava veoma teško. Psima može biti ute- ha da je i većina ljudi u istoj situaciji. Da li je pseći život dobar ili nije, pokušao sam da odgovorim u ovom fil- mu samo jednim delom, razmišljajući iz glave jednog psa lutalice. Šta to znači biti sam, kako je to kada na- đeš prijatelja čoveka koji je isto tako sam i čiji život se može nazvati psećim životom. Ili pas može svoj život nazvati i ljudskim životom. Sve zavisi od toga u kom ste položaju i kako se osećate na ovom svetu. Ovaj film će pokušati da na crnohumoran način, kao i sve što sam do sada radio, odgovori na pitanje da li ima života posle smrti i na još bitnije: ima li života pre smrti i kakav je taj život This film will attempt, in a darkly humorous way, like everything else I’ve done to date, to answer the question of whether there is life after death and, more importantly, whether there is life before death and what that life is like
Tekst/Words: Jelena Pantović
Fotografije/Photography: Oliver Bunić, Dunja Dopsaj
Interview » Intervju | 41
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator