18/12/2024 - Ivan Salatić’s sophomore feature tells a story from the 19th century, offering a re-imagined historical view of the Mediterranean and Montenegro

The sophomore feature written and directed by Ivan Salatić, Wondrous Is the Silence of My Master [+see also:
film review
interview: Ivan Salatić
film profile], has been selected for the prestigious Tiger Competition of the 54th IFFR (see the news). Salatić’s previous feature, You Have the Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Salatić
film profile] (2018), premiered in the Orizzonti competition of Venice, kicking off a long and fruitful tour of festivals, including the 2019 edition of IFFR, where the film was shown in the Bright Future Competition.

Wondrous Is the Silence of My Master tells the story of the ruler over the Montenegrin tribes in the 19th century, a bishop and a poet named Morlak. When the territory is surrounded by enemy forces, the gravely ill Morlak sets off on a voyage to find a cure for his disease, eventually ending up in a remote house in Southern Italy. He is followed by his two daughters and his most faithful servant and companion, Đuko. The latter is consumed by deep sentiments of nostalgia and fear over the prospect of his master’s death, which turn to jealousy and paranoia about the relationship that Morlak forges with a visiting scholar, and eventually pave the way for violence once the master decides to return home for the last time.

In the filmmaker’s own words, the character of Morlak is based on the real 19th-century Montenegrin ruler Petar Petrović Njegoš, who was also a bishop and a poet. “However, in focusing on the more poetic and solitary aspects of Morlak’s personality, I intentionally move away from creating a conventional, epic biography. This allows me to explore a different historical approach – one that challenges traditional narratives and investigates alternative ideas within this anti-epic, historical/non-historical context,” he stated. Salatić defines his work as fiction and a re-imagined view of the Mediterranean in the 19th century, with the goal being to challenge the views defined by conservatism, the patriarchy and the struggle to reconcile them with the modern world that still shapes the cultural and political identity of Montenegro.

The cast is led by Marko Pogačar, Luka Petrone, Tea Ljubešić, Vanja Matić, Vladimir Milošević, Igor Božanić and Jakov Zovko. Ivan Marković handled the cinematography and Jelena Maksimović the editing. Dragana Baćović and Marija Mitić designed the sets, while Lidija Andrić and Tijana Milutinović took care of the costumes. Amary Arboun served as the sound designer, while Toni Cutrone (Mai Mai Mai) wrote the original score.

Wondrous Is the Silence of My Master is a Montenegrin-Serbian-Croatian-French-Italian co-production staged by Meander Film (represented by producers Jelena Angelovski and Dušan Kasalica), Non-Aligned Films (represented by co-producers Dragana Jovović, Ognjen Glavonić and Stefan Ivančić), Dinaridi Film (Tena Gojić), Bocalupo Films (Jasmina Sijerčić) and Nightswim (Stefano Sardo and Ines Vasilević). Radio-Television of Montenegro also served as a co-production company. The project has been supported by the Film Centre of Montenegro, Film Center Serbia, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Italian Ministry of Culture, Film Commission Regione Campania, the CNC, Eurimages and Creative Europe – MEDIA.