Synopsis

An old man finds a swallow that fell out of her nest, and decides to take care of her. Three times a day he feeds her with worms from decaying sour cherries. After a few months, the swallow grows so attached to the old man that she sits on his shoulder while he’s going around the village, or on his Cossack hat when he is working in a corn field. Autumn is here, and the old man fears the swallow won’t migrate because she loves him so much. He decides to raise some money and take her to the sea…

NIN, 03. april 2008: The Swallow by Milan Belegisanin, a director of remarkable talent and sensibility, deserves our attention. In some 15 minutes, we discover the world and soul of a seemingly ordinary Serbian peasant. His life is radically changed thanks to his friendship with a wild bird. This is a true story about  Bosko Dugacki, the man who brought up a swallow and became attached to her to the point of obsession in the course of only one summer. His swallow did not forget his kindness, she followed him about, perched on his shoulder while he walked about the village or landed on his Cossack hat while digging corn.  With autumn upon him and season for swallows to migrate to the south, he decides to raise money and take her to the sea… the director zooms in on close-up shots of the old man, focusing entirely on his heartfelt story telling, thus revealing this extraordinary friendship in an original manner.

Novi FILMOGRAF, Autumn-Winter 2007. ‘Nothing suggested this turmoil, no one expected that a simple little story barely escaping the grim TV production, would spawn such a wealth of associations. The secret lies in a dozen of shots, a few plan and angles of the same space, a single camera angle. Belegisanin did not want to compromise the power of story so he deliberately avoided the usual stock of signs and pared down the main story line? Indicating a behemoth/colossal metaphor. Directing movies does not imply contrived reality, rather a careful selection of means and a sense of inner space of the play. Such Gestalt is the essence of kinesthetics? Rather than piling up of allegedly specific film procedures and editing for mere effect. Boiling down to the basic, the essential part, paths the way to the structure itself. Something like this is possible only through the film medium… If we had read Bosko’s story in a newspaper, we would have moved on to another headline. This way, we’re richer? For a purely cinematic experience that meets the goal, and therefore- a rare find. (Božidar Zečević)