Zvonko Džokić

Between trauma and dream

Everyone who is occupied with the exploration of the destinies of the “broken structures”, created by war traumas, at the same time is engaged in research of the possible destiny of the modern globalization, in regard to looking at the outcome of the struggle between two drives, Eros and Thanatos. The film “LIKE A BAD DREAM” and its author Antonio Mitrikeski create an original artistic contribution to discovering and asking for answers to these serious questions.

In this film are interwoven dream and reality of the main characters, who are presented as prisoners in “the games of the others”. Those games are turned around in the hermetic world consisted of forced roles, with two extremes: at the one side is “the victim” and at the other “the despot”. The reality has no way out and becomes hopeless, and the dream is the only one defense mechanism which tries to keep the existence of the goodness in the characters, despite of domination of the delusional compulsive repetition of the violence. There are presented clearly “splitting” and “as if” phenomenon, as a common state of mind of the “broken structures”. At the same time, the environment strongly supports the choice of the already installed pathological roles, created through the so-called “inversion with the aggressor” defense mechanism, as well as “identity diffusion syndrome” and a remarkable perversion of the Libido.

At the moment when it seems that trauma is even stronger than dream, that is when Thanatos has defeated Eros, the author offers original actions, as possible solutions of the presented situation. He puts the older character, the Seitan, into the position of confrontation with the hopelessness of “compulsive repetition” which happens to him and his inability to resolve it on integrative way. Furthermore, that position arises in the character the spontaneous decision to close the circle of the destructive impulsivity, enacting the scene of “sacrifice the Devil inside”, that is the scene which can be called “The death of the Death”. In such a way, the life ends “like a bad dream”, but reality is released to arise again the faith in the power of Eros.

The younger character, Ivan, doesn't allow himself to enter the circulus vitiosus of the “inversion with the aggressor”. He is being punished for that with violence and sexual abuse, made by the representatives of the “Brave New World”. That sacrifice is presented as a temporary one, as a bill from the learning about the illusions of the New World, as well as the experience which furthermore is completed in strengthening of the decision to sustain himself on the way of authentic individuation.

So, the film finishes not as an elegy for the Balkans and the “Balkanians”, but as a terrifying vision about the Global World. Of course, unless it's main creators succeed to confront themselves with their “Devil”. From there, finally, everything originates.