LIFE OF A SHOCK FORCE WORKER
Slike iz života udarnika
Dir. Bahrudin ‘Bata’ Čengić, 1972
Yugoslavian. 75 min.
In Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles.

Adem, a Bosniak miner, is the exemplar of labor in his small town before the split between Tito and Stalin. Always going above and beyond the call of duty, Adem earns the title of udarnik (shock force worker) - a worker who has been elevated to the status of national hero. With his new status, his identity is bisected. At the same time a small town worker and national icon, family man and appendage of the state. His loyalties are tested while the countryside struggles to urbanize in accordance with Tito's agenda, and never without a healthy dose of humor.

Beautifully shot by Karpo Aćimović Godina and restored under his direct supervision, LIFE OF A SHOCK FORCE WORKER is singular among its contemporaries in its beauty. Every composition is spellbinding from the mountains to the mines.