Dusan Makavejev - Ljubavni Slucaj ili Tragedija sluzbenice PTT ( Switchboard Operator) (1967)

That European cinema did things differently in the 1960s is not in doubt, as even directors from little-renowned cinematic cultures such as Yugoslavia delighted in new-found freedom. On one hand, "Switchboard Operator" is a simple tale of love, betrayal and tragedy in Belgrade, and as such captures some touching details about trapped lives in a totalitarian society. However, director Dusan Makavejev, clearly under the influence of Godard, adopts an offhand approach to his narrative, and introduces extraneous material at tangents to the main story. Most of this stuff is fascinating, particularly when he uses archive footage of Yugoslav history. Less successful are the interjections of two tedious academics, a sexologist and a criminologist, whose stern pronouncements jar against the film's capricious tone. Nonetheless, this is invigorating film-making which reaches into some strange regions. Despite an economical running time of 69 minutes, the film even finds time for a brief history of how the grey rat infested Europe! ." - IMDB






Sexologist Dr. Aleksandar Dj. Kostic





"Dusan Makavejev distills the evolution of Ahmed and Izabela's relationship through a series of tangentially related, historically based documentary footage - the rise of Communism, the abolition of the church, the government program to control rat infestation, an agricultural scientist's observation of an egg - to create a lyrical and sympathetic portrait of love in a time of uncertainty."





Dusan Makavejev reflects the turbulence and duality of 1960's Yugoslavia in The Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator: a disconsonant fusion of artistic expression, sexual liberation, and political suppression. Through clinical, anesthetized lectures on psychological behavior, Makavejev explores the tumultuous nature of human relationships as a reflection, and often as a consequence, of the environment.











"Ahmed represents the traditional order: practical, conservative, and loyal party member. In contrast, Isabela embodies the spirit of the times: unconventional, self-involved, and independent. Inevitably, their union becomes an allegory for the tenuous dichotomy of the Yugoslavian nation - a cultural, ideological, and social revolution for national identity and autonomy - a struggle for the collective soul of a people."