KAD BUDEM MRTAV I BEO
When I Am Dead and Gone (Serbo-Croatian: Kad budem mrtav i beo) is a seminal 1967 Yugoslav film directed by Živojin Pavlović. It is widely regarded as one of the most significant and iconic works of the Yugoslav Black Wave—a film movement known for its critical, often bleak, and unflinching examination of socialist society and the lives of those on its margins.
Plot Summary
The film follows the life of Džimi Barka, a charming but aimless young seasonal worker. After being fired from his job, he drifts through the Yugoslav provinces, struggling to find his place in society. His primary ambition is to become a singer—despite his lack of actual talent. His journey through the crumbling outskirts and the social layers of the time serves as a critique of the era's economic and moral atmosphere.
Significance
Yugoslav Black Wave: Pavlović’s work is quintessential to this movement, which rejected the state-sanctioned optimism of contemporary socialist cinema. Instead, it focused on the "human condition" of the disaffected, the unemployed, and the social misfits.
Existentialist Themes: The film is often compared to the works of Sartre and Camus, emphasizing the protagonist's struggle with freedom, lack of purpose, and the "impending moral collapse" of the society around him.
Iconic Portrayal: The film helped cement Dragan Nikolić's status as a legendary Serbian actor, perfectly capturing the restless, anti-heroic spirit of the youth during that period.
Pavlović famously stated that the "new cinema" he championed did not seek to "dazzle, but to hurt," a sentiment that is deeply embedded in the gritty, realist aesthetic of When I Am Dead and Gone
The Yugoslav Black Wave (Crni talas) was a bold, confrontational movement that fundamentally challenged the aesthetic and political orthodoxy of the mid-20th century. By shifting the focus from idealized socialist heroism to the fractured reality of the individual, these filmmakers created a legacy that resonates throughout European art cinema.
Stylistic Characteristics of the Black Wave
Directors like Živojin Pavlović, Dušan Makavejev, and Želimir Žilnik shared a commitment to "torturing" the audience with uncomfortable truths rather than entertaining them with state-sanctioned narratives.
Documentary Impulses: Many films utilized hand-held cameras, grainy textures, and location shooting (streets, farms, and gritty urban environments) to mirror the raw, lived experience of the working class.
The Anti-Hero: Unlike the noble Partisan figures of mainstream Yugoslav cinema, Black Wave protagonists were often drifters, petty criminals, or social misfits—individuals existing on the periphery who were largely ignored by the system.
Juxtaposition of Tone: These films frequently blended dark humor and satire with profound existential dread. They often spliced fictional narratives with actual documentary or newsreel footage, creating a jarring, meta-cinematic effect.
Direct Social Critique: By depicting sexual frustration, alienation, and state bureaucracy with unflinching candor, the films acted as a form of "revisionist" art, testing the boundaries of what was permissible under Tito’s regime
Initial releaseDecember 27, 1967
When I Am Dead and Gone (Kad budem mrtav i beo) 1967 with English subtitles
Živojin "Žika" Pavlović (1933–1998) was one of the most significant figures in the history of Yugoslav cinema, a seminal director of the Black Wave (Crni talas) movement, and a prolific writer, painter, and professor.
The Auteur of the "Black Wave"
Pavlović was a key architect of the Black Wave, a film movement of the 1960s and early 1970s that rejected the state-sanctioned, optimistic "Partisan film" aesthetic. Instead, he turned his lens toward the "underside" of socialist Yugoslavia—the marginalized, the impoverished, the petty criminals, and the disillusioned youth.
His work was characterized by:
A "Drastic Image": Pavlović avoided sentimentalism, opting for a raw, uncompromising portrayal of reality. His style often utilized long takes and a documentary-like approach to explore the chasm between revolutionary ideals and the gritty, daily struggles of the common individual.
Social Subversion: His films were frequently targeted by the regime for being "counter-revolutionary" or for presenting a distorted view of the socialist utopia. Despite this, he received significant international acclaim, including the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Dual Identity: Though primarily associated with Serbian cinema, Pavlović maintained a deep creative connection to Slovenia, directing several feature films there and often identifying himself as a director of both Serbian and Slovenian cinema.
Essential Filmography
Pavlović directed thirteen feature films, each contributing to his reputation as a master of atmospheric, socially critical cinema.
| Year | Title (English/Literal) | Notable Recognition |
| 1967 | Kad budem mrtav i beo (When I Am Dead and Gone) | FIPRESCI Prize (Karlovy Vary); Best Film (Pula) |
| 1967 | Buđenje pacova (The Rats Woke Up) | Silver Bear for Directing (Berlin); Best Director (Pula) |
| 1969 | Zaseda (The Ambush) | CIDALC Award (Venice) |
| 1970 | Crveno klasje (Red Ears of Wheat) | Best Film & Best Director (Pula) |
| 1977 | Hajka (Manhunt) | Best Film & Director (Pula) |
| 1983 | Zadah tela (Body Scent) | Best Film, Director, & Screenplay (Pula) |
Intellectual Contributions
Beyond his film work, Pavlović was a major intellectual force. He authored numerous short story collections, novels, and, importantly, critical essays on film and art. His theoretical texts—such as Đavolji film (Devil's Cinema) and O odvratnom (On the Disgusting)—remain influential in understanding the aesthetics of the "drastic image" and the role of the artist under a socialist system.
To explore the cinema of Živojin Pavlović is to witness a profound subversion of the socialist dream. His films act as a "counter-cartography" of Yugoslavia, mapping the mud, construction sites, and marginalized lives that the official state cinema sought to erase.
His work is often categorized into three major phases, though the "Black Wave" sensibilities underpin almost everything he touched.
1. The Apex of the "Black Wave" (Mid-to-Late 1960s)
This period represents his most radical and internationally recognized work. These films are visceral, fragmented, and deeply skeptical of the "new" Yugoslav man.
Kad budem mrtav i beo (When I Am Dead and Gone, 1967): Often cited as the definitive "Black Wave" film. It follows Jimmy Barka, a small-time hustler and amateur singer. Jimmy is a wanderer with no fixed identity—he isn't a worker, a patriot, or a hero. He is simply a person trying to survive the indifference of a system that has no place for his restlessness. It is raw, cynical, and famously served as an inspiration for John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy.
Buđenje pacova (The Rats Woke Up, 1967): A masterclass in his "poetics of viciousness." It focuses on the bleak lives of the working class in Belgrade, where desires for connection are thwarted by systemic apathy and physical decay. The film effectively uses the "drastic image" to provoke a sense of discomfort rather than empathy.
Zaseda (The Ambush, 1969): A blistering critique of the post-revolutionary reality. The film examines the fate of an idealistic youth who believes in the revolution, only to discover that the actual realization of that revolution involves betrayal, murder, and the destruction of the very people it was meant to empower.
2. Radical Realism & "Social Barbarism" (1970s–1980s)
After the height of the Black Wave was suppressed by the state, Pavlović moved toward a more mature, though no less bleak, style.
Crveno klasje (Red Wheat, 1970): Explores the conflict between personal freedom and state-mandated agricultural collectivization. Pavlović presents the state not as a savior, but as a rigid machine that crushes the "lust for life" inherent in his characters.
Hajka (Manhunt, 1977) & Zadah tela (Body Scent, 1983): These films show a shift in his focus. Zadah tela, in particular, is an unflinching look at the stagnation of the working class in the 1980s. The film captures the feeling of a society "trapped in the fog," where the promise of the future has been completely replaced by the resignation of the present.
Artistic Pillars
To understand his films, you must look at the specific aesthetic "tools" he employed:
The Aesthetics of Disgust: Pavlović intentionally filmed the "un-filmic"—piles of scrap metal, damp basements, the sweat of desperate people, and the ugliness of human aging. He believed that beauty in art was a distraction; he wanted his images to be like a "probing drill" that would break through the audience's apathy.
Destructive Associativity: Rather than traditional, linear storytelling, he used jarring edits and rhythmic visual cues to create an emotional, almost sensory experience. He wanted the film to hurt the viewer, to provoke a reaction that forced them to acknowledge the reality behind the propaganda.
The Anti-Hero: His protagonists (like Jimmy Barka) are never "models of the socialist citizen." They are usually petty, confused, impulsive, and ultimately doomed. He loved these characters not because they were righteous, but because their failures exposed the "barbarism" of the society around them.
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