The Macedonian Part of Hell (1971) – Vratoslav Mimica
23.07.22
8:30 pm

THE MACEDONIAN PART OF HELL
Vatroslav Mimica (1971)

Saturday, July 23 – 20:30

Vatroslav Mimica’s 1971 film “The Macedonian Part of Hell” brings us again face to face with the brutality of war. Based on a true story, the film takes place in the Bulgarian-occupied city of Bitola between 1942-1943. The tortures that the residents of the town face when they refuse to give away the partisans are conveyed in an unsettling manner to the audience. The film makes us rethink the subjects of war, soldier, chain of command, informant, and will. With the occasional shifts between good and evil in its plot, the film reminds us of the virtue of being a human. The expression “Anarchy is the mother of order” used by a Bulgarian soldier named Sismanov, who wanted to oppose the tortures, represents a great opposition to the state discourse which tries to portray war as an “orderly” one.