The Special Education

Markovic’ first feature attracted an audience of more than 220,000 in Belgrade alone. In a period when the city had a population of about one million, Specijalno vaspitanje bucked the trend that no one displayed any interest in the local film product. The enormous success surprised many and even made some critics compared it to the famous `black wave’, the innovative trend in Yugoslav film led by Dusan Makavejev, which came to a brutal and abrupt end in 1971.The film, about a young delinquent in a remand home, is reminiscent of Les 400 coups by Truffaut and If… by Lindsay Anderson. However Markovic did not really want to investigate all kinds of theories about upbringing, nor to criticise the situation in the institutes. The way the protagonist in this film becomes accustomed to the remand home is in the end a metaphor for Yugoslavia’s transition to an urban culture. Markovic uses the story in this way as a means to portray the spiritual landscape of his country at a crucial moment in history.The leading role is played by Slavko Stimac, the enfant terrible of Yugoslav film. The teacher who gives him special exercises to provide a glimpse of a better future, is played by Bekim Fehmiu, at the time successful on the international market. The film also includes the first performance by Branislav Lecic, now Minister of Culture of the Serbian Republic.