Abstract
This paper analyses Croatian film Night boats (2012), directed by Igor Mirković, from the anthropology of film and anthropology of age point of view. The film story is analyzed as the so-called diegetic universe, i.e. as an ethnography of the film, and is connected to the real experiences of the elderly. The plot of the film follows the meeting and emotional bonding of Helena and Jakov in one of Zagreb's nursing homes. Shortly after their brief acquaintance, these "seventy-year-old teenagers" begin a romance, run away from home and embark on a road adventure. In terms of genre, this film can be viewed as a road movie since, in addition to the fact that the main characters spend more than half of the plot on the road, the film thematically and visually follows the conventions of the aforementioned genre. Their road adventure is initiated on a metaphorical level, as an escape from illness and death, as well as an escape from loneliness and the circumstances that life in old age brings. The main characters flee from the lack of choice they are faced with which is why their journey can be interpreted as a search for lost, almost stripped identities. The journey of Helena and Jacob, two elderly individuals faced with the problems of loneliness and physical decline, represents a transformative experience for the main characters and signifies a form of quiet rebellion, a refusal to accept cultural conventions according to which active life ends with a socially constructed notion of old age. In this sense, this film story served to critically address various issues and problems concerning society’s stereotypical attitudes towards the elderly.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Similar Papers
More From: Etnoantropološki problemi / Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.