Film Review: The Magic Sword (Čudotvorni mač, 1950)

In the first years of Communist Yugoslavia cinema was seriously limited not only by lack of technical know how or resources, but also content which consisted mostly about crude Socialist Realist propaganda or celebration of recent WW2 victories. Any film that managed to stray out of those limitations are bound to stand out as something unusual and memorable. Such example can be found in The Magic Sword, 1950 film directed by Vojislav Nanović, known as the first Yugoslav feature film belonging to the genre of fantasy and also the first which, through the decades, have built something resembling cult status.

The film is based on Serbian folk story, collected by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić in 19th Century. The plot is set in Middle Ages and the protagonist, played by Rade Marković, is Nebojša, young shepherd who, long time ago, as a young boy, has stumbled into abandoned castle and set free Baš Čelik (played by Milivoje Živanović), its demonic ruler. Nebojša now wants to marry beautiful girl named Vida (played by Vera Đukić) and wins her hand in a contest with Gricko (played by Miroslav “Bata” Paskaljević), chieftain’s son. Gricko is jealous, leaves village and, when stumbling into Baš Čelik and his knights, describes Vida’s beauty. Baš Čelik arrives and, warning villagers that he and his men are invulnerable to weapons, enslaves them and takes away Vida to his castle. Nebojša is desperate to set her free, but this proves impossible until he learns Baš Čelik’s secret – he could be defeated by a magic sword, apparently held in a cave where old witch (played by Zora Zlatković) lives. Nebojša volunteers to do chores for the witch in exchange for her greatest treasure, even if it mean that he would be beheaded if he fails in his task. He succeeds, but later learns that the sword is held in distant city by an empress (played by Vilma Zedrinski) who, together with her hand and imperial crown, offers it as reward to winners of a martial tournament.

The Magic Sword clearly shows its age, mainly through not particularly impressive black-and-white cinematography by Nenad Jovičić and Miljenko Stojanović, as well as somewhat archaic dialogues and somewhat misplaced song composed by Krešimir Baranović whose soundtrack, based on South Slavic folk motives, is otherwise very effective. In almost everything else, Nanović’s film looks very polished and very effective, not very different from what you could have expected from quality works of fantasy cinema from other cinemas at the time, with possible exception of Hollywood. Nanović has put recently Avala Film studio complex, built only few years earlier in Košutnjak area of Belgrade, to good use and the caves and medieval castles are reconstructed with ease, including even some basic but effective special effects. The Magic Sword also used exterior locations, including famous Roman arena in Croatian city of Pula, which would soon afterwards become main venue of Yugoslav film festival. The only serious drawback and sign that the crew and cast lacked proper experience can be seen in poorly choreographed fight scenes.

However, The Magic Sword appears to be a film that cast and crew had great fun making. Script, co-written by Nanović and Jugoslav Đorđević, doesn’t contain any traces of the official ideology, except with the protagonist being changed from the aristocratic prince into shepherd commoner and with the finale in which peasants, led by Nebojša, rise against Baš Čelik as feudal oppressor. Rade Marković, young actor who would later have great career as one of the the most respected names of Serbian and Yugoslav cinema, marvels in his first starring role and delivers convincing portrayal of naivety, enthusiasm and goodness in archetypal hero that even resembles Luke Skywalker in the first incarnation of Star Wars. The rest of the cast is also good, especially Bata Paskaljević as comical semi-villain in the role that would be first in the series to make him one of the more dependable character actors of Yugoslav cinema and television. Nanović, apart from humour, adds couple of surreal elements (like talking fish) and some that might be a little too macabre for the youngest audience (like a ghostly figure demanding heads from the witch). There is also something that was quite rarity in Yugoslav cinema at the time – scantily-clad dancers that entertain tournament participants and give a little hints of mild eroticism as the final piece of winning formula. But, The Magic Sword still functions as a good family entertainment and the lack of fantasy films in Serbian and Yugoslav cinema in later decades, as well as common airing on television and subsequent pop culture references, maintained its popularity to this day.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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