The Weight of Chains 2

The Weight of Chains 2 is a 2014 Canadian-Serbian[2] documentary film about the political and economic situation in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.[3] Directed and produced by Boris Malagurski, the film was released on November 20, 2014 at the Serbian Film Festival at Montecasino in Johannesburg, South Africa.[4]

The Weight of Chains 2
Film poster
Directed byBoris Malagurski
Produced byBoris Malagurski
StarringNoam Chomsky
Carla Del Ponte
Mlađan Dinkić
Vuk Jeremić
Diana Johnstone
Ivo Josipović
Slavko Kulić
Miroslav Lazanski
Igor Mandić
Michael Parenti
Oliver Stone
R. James Woolsey
Music byMilan Janković
Ilija Stevanović
Stefan Drndarski
Novo Sekulović
Production
company
Malagurski Cinema
Filmosophy Association[1]
Release date
  • November 20, 2014 (2014-11-20) (Serbian Film Festival)
  • December 11, 2014 (2014-12-11) (Canada)
Running time
124 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish, Serbian
Budget$45,049

As the sequel of The Weight of Chains,[5] the film deals with neoliberal economic reforms in the Balkans[3][6] and discusses the effects of these reforms on all aspects of life in the former Yugoslavia, from politics, economics, military, culture and education to the media. "Through stories of stolen and sold off companies, corrupt politicians, fictional tribunals, destructive foreign investors and various economic-military alliances, the film deconstructs modern myths about everything we've been told will bring us a better life", Malagurski told Tanjug.[7]

The film had its world broadcast premiere on RT in April 2016[8] and also aired on Radio Television of Serbia in July 2016.[9]

Synopsis

The film starts with events that led to the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević on 5 October 2000. It analyzes the National Endowment for Democracy's financing of the Otpor! resistance movement, together with the West's training of Serbian activists and politicians in Budapest and discusses the row between the government and the opposition concerning electoral fraud accusations. The film continues to assess Serbia's economy after the fall of Milošević.[10]

As the concept of neoliberalism is explained in the film, from the teachings of Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises, to Milton Friedman and the Chicago Boys, and the spread of neoliberalism from the overthrow of Salvador Allende in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, which brought Augusto Pinochet to power, to Margaret Thatcher's reforms in the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan's reforms in the United States,[11] Malagurski argues that a 'shock-economy' based on the Washington Consensus led Serbia and other countries to the edge of existence,[12] with the United States imposing these policies by installing puppet regimes. The film asserts that non-governmental organizations, with multimillion-dollar budgets and direct connections with Washington, help keep U.S.-friendly regimes in power and the people in line. Noting that Russia demanded that NGOs register as "foreign agents" in that country to solve this problem, Malagurski mentions that the United States also passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act.[10] "Institutions like the International Monetary Fund", Malagurski said in a discussion, "act like hitmen", whose policies "destroyed the economies of many countries".[6] The destruction of the education system in the former Yugoslavia is assessed in the film as well, with Malagurski arguing that adopting the neoliberal model led to a drastic decrease in quality of learning, combined with vulgar television shows that aim to dumb down the populace.[10]

Malagurski then briefly tackles the topic of the Yugoslav wars, claiming that Slobodan Milošević and Franjo Tuđman, leaders on opposite sides of the conflict, had several common banks abroad where they hid money that was stolen during the war. The film argues that Croatian general Ante Gotovina amassed enormous wealth during the war as well.[10] Carla Del Ponte then discusses the case of Ramush Haradinaj, saying that he was freed because of political pressure from the United States. She also says that UNMIK refused to send evidence of organ theft in Kosovo, arguing that "since NATO and the Kosovo Liberation Army were partners during the war, they couldn't act against each other after the war."[11]

The 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt is analyzed in the film, with Hugo Chávez, who previously changed Venezuela's neoliberal constitution and defied the IMF, briefly being replaced with a President loyal to the United States, arguing that the coup d'état failed because many people went to the streets to demand Chávez back, with Chávez quickly being re-installed as President.[11] Malagurski then presents his recommendations for how a country can free itself from Western control – by protecting local industry, as the film argues that foreign investments destroy local production (noting the examples of South Korea, which restricted foreign investments, as well as Finland from 1930 to 1980),[13] creating a welfare state and making protesting a way of life.[10]

Production

The film was produced with support from the Office for Kosovo and Metohija,[14] the Serbian Ministry of Youth and Sport, the Belgrade Secretariat for Culture, Radio Television of Serbia,[15] as well as individual donors worldwide.[16]

Release

Following the World Premiere in Johannesburg, The Weight of Chains 2 had its European Premiere on November 29, 2014 at the Swedish Film Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, as a part of BANEFF – the Balkan New Film Festival.[17][18] In an interview, Malagurski said that the film was shown at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education[19] and the film was also screened at the Museo Nacional de las Culturas[20] in Mexico City, Mexico.

Subsequent screenings took place in Vancouver[21] and Toronto[22] in Canada, Innsbruck[23] in Austria and Stuttgart[12] and Berlin[12] in Germany. The Balkan premiere took place in Banja Luka,[24][25] while the Serbian premiere was in Subotica.[26] The film opened in cinemas in Belgrade,[27] Vienna,[28] Novi Sad,[29] Linz,[30] Niš,[31] Kraljevo[32] and was shown in Čačak,[33] Kozarska Dubica,[34] Teslić,[35] Gračanica[36] and Sombor.[37]

The film was also shown in Prague, Czech Republic,[10] and as part of the 2015 BANEFF in Oslo, Norway.[38] It was also screened at the Subversive Festival in Zagreb, Croatia,[2][39] as well as in Ljubljana, Slovenia,[40] Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina,[41] Podgorica, Montenegro,[42] and other cities.[43]

In September 2015, the film had its United Kingdom premiere at the 23rd Raindance Film Festival in London.[44]

Critical response

Serbian film critic Dubravka Lakić[45] wrote a review of the film in Politika following the Belgrade premiere of The Weight of Chains 2, in which she wrote that "it's not necessary for you to agree with Malagurski's ideology to notice that he indisputably made a full-blooded and, for our cinematic terms, unsurpassed documentary". She described the film as "exciting and dynamic", adding that, in regards to both content and form, it is a "complex film", which could have been "even better if it had been more concise". Lakić points out that, by "confronting claims made by the interviewees", the message of the film is clearly presented – "resistance to neoliberalism is no longer a matter of ideology, but of common sense".[46]

Agata Tomažič, writing in the Slovenian newspaper Delo, described the film as "a Yugoslav version of The Shock Doctrine by Michael Winterbottom … … or a cross between Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story and Gibney's Casino Jack and the United States of Money".[47]

Interviewees

The interviewees in the film include:[3][48][49]

Two of the interviewees were featured only in the film trailer:[49][50]

References
  1. Filmosophy Association Subversive Festival
  2. The Weight of Chains 2 Archived 2016-04-17 at the Wayback Machine Subversive Festival in Zagreb, Croatia
  3. Malagurski: Uz puno truda bolje sutra može da se ostvari Večernje novosti
  4. The Serbian Film festival at Montecasino Montecasino.co.za
  5. Boris Malagurski: Želim da radim u Srbiji
  6. "Malagurski at the premiere in Kraljevo". Eraska.rs. 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  7. The premiere of The Weight of Chains 2 on January 31 Tanjug.rs
  9. RTS – Težina lanaca 2
  10. USA chtějí okupovat celý svět, představoval v Praze srbský režisér svůj film. A dal všem návod, jak se tomu vzepřít Parlamentní Listy
  11. The Weight of Chains 2 NSPM.rs
  12. http://m.vesti-online.com/Dijaspora/drzava/Nemacka/Vesti/459852/Buntom-protiv-lanaca
  13. What shocked Carla Del Ponte Politika
  14. "2005. godine Boris je emigrirao u Kanadu " Subotica.com
  15. "The Weight of Chains 2" in Subotica Subotica.com
  16. Weight of Chains 2 website Sponsors
  17. Weight of Chains European Premiere on November 29 2014 at the Swedish Film Institute in Stockholm BANEFF.com
  18. The Weight of Chains 2 Stockholm Premiere AllEvents.in
  19. Tehnološki insitut Monterej Subotica.com
  20. El peso de las cadenas, parte 2 Mexicoescultura.com
  21. The Weight of Chains 2 The Georgia Straight
  22. The Weight of Chains 2 Royal Cinema
  23. The Weight of Chains 2 Metropol Kino
  24. Malagurski's messages arrived in Banja Luka Nezavisne novine
  25. Balkan premiere of The Weight of Chains 2 Glas Srpske
  26. The premiere of The Weight of Chains 2 in Subotica Subotica.com
  27. Cinemas in Belgrade B92.net
  28. "Das Gewicht der Ketten 2" in Wien – Kinoprogramm und Spielzeiten
  29. Neviđeno interesovanje i salve aplauza na otvorenoj sceni Eurocinema in Cultural Centre of Novi Sad
  30. Das Gewicht Der Ketten 2 Megaplex Linz
  31. Film “Težina lanaca 2” i u Nišu Southern News
  32. The Weight of Chains 2 Kvart Cinema in Kraljevo
  33. The Weight of Chains 2 in Cacak Krstarica News
  34. "The Weight of Chains 2" shown in Kozarska Dubica DUB Radio
  35. The premiere of "The Weight of Chains 2" in Teslic Dobojski.info
  36. "The Weight of Chains 2" shown in Gračanica TV Most
  37. The Weight of Chains 2 in Sombor SOinfo.org]
  38. Balkan New Film Festival 2014
  39. "Filmski Program Težina lanaca 2". kinoeuropa.hr. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  40. Petek, 15.5, 19:00, Teža verige 2 (The Weight of Chains 2) Kinoteka.si
  41. ANNOUNCEMENT OF EVENTS FOR MONDAY, 18 MAY 2015
  42. The premiere of Boris Malagurski's The Weight of Chains 2 Podgorica, Montenegro
  43. Premijera novog filma Borisa Malugarskog: Težina lanaca 2
  44. The Weight of Chains 2 Raindance Film Festival
  45. Dubravka Lakić grazia.rs. Retrieved February 3, 2015
  46. Gde smo mi u ovoj priči Politika.rs
  47. Teža verig in pasivnosti Delo
  48. Nema povlačenja, nema predaje Politika
  49. "The Interviewees". Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  50. Video WeightOfChains.ca
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