Watch Man Is Not a Bird

Man Is Not a Bird is a 1965 Serbian drama film directed by Dusan Makavejev. The movie portrays a story set in a small mining town of Serbia where workers from the Serbian country move in search of employment. The film follows a young engineer, Jan Rudinski (played by Janez Vrhovec), who is in charge of improving the production in a local factory. Jan Rudinski, who belongs to a more sophisticated and reserved part of society, falls in love with a young hairdresser named Raika (played by Milena Dravic). The relationship between Jan and Raika represents the beginning of a movie that reflects the communist system of the former Yugoslavia of the sixties.

Man Is Not a Bird primarily explores the issues of human relationships and personal identity amidst the bleak and doctrinal socialist system in the Eastern Bloc. Jan Rudinski has to adjust to the rural lifestyle of the place where he works, which feels like a different world to him. He feels lost and out of place, and the only solace he finds is in his relationship with Raika. The film reflects the frustration of the young generation towards the older generation's dream of collective progress while not giving due consideration to personal freedom.

The film's narrative becomes about the relationship between Jan Rudinsky and Raika, who are from different backgrounds and classes. Jan is a technical specialist of the management and belongs to the affluent section of the society. On the other hand, Raika belongs to the working class, and her father is a miner. Descriptions of daily life in a mining town take up much of the film's running time. As their relationship progresses, they grow apart, and Jan Rudinski and Raika go through a personal and professional crisis. Jan's career and its accompanying frustrations with being "tied to the factory" are juxtaposed with Raika's amorous adventures as they continually alternate between periods of affection and estrangement.

Director Makavejev uses these protagonists' struggles to highlight the dangerous assumptions that can develop from a rigid and soulless socialist regime. The plot emphasizes the power of human emotions and personality conflicts in the face of the communist system's machinery of government oppression.

The film's visuals are stark black and white photography, with a lot of longshots showing the lonely, desolate landscapes of the mining town. With its detached and melancholic tone, Man Is Not a Bird is often regarded as one of the earliest examples of the Yugoslav Black Wave cinema.

The film uses the observational filmmaking style that avoids giving too much information, and often the director allows the film to wander and linger. Makavejev is known for his unique style that incorporates documentary elements with a fiction narrative, which reflects the director's fascination with the unconscious mind's hidden desires and the human psyche.

Man Is Not a Bird is a film that examines the universal theme of human relationships and the impact of the high-handed socialist system on the human psyche. The movie's melancholic tone and expressions evoke a bottomless isolation of the people who fall prey to the socialist system's rigidity.

Man Is Not a Bird has been highly regarded by the critics and audiences alike for its portrayal of the human psyche and relationships that rise above the limitations imposed by the socialist ideology. Makavejev has masterfully depicted the dehumanizing effects of the socialist regime, with lines like, "We have no right to joy. The only valid reason for living is through work as defined by the socialist system."

In conclusion, Man Is Not a Bird portrays an artful criticism of a political and social system that represses human individuality and fail to account for the human psyche's depths. With its melancholic tone and bleak thematic elements, Man Is Not a Bird is a must-watch for the lovers of Yugoslav Black Wave cinema and those interested in the Eastern Bloc or socialist regimes in general.