The Third Half
The Third Half | |
---|---|
Directed by | Darko Mitrevski |
Screenplay by | Grgur Strujic and Darko Mitrevski |
Based on | World War 2 events |
Produced by | Robert Naskov, Darko Mitrevski, Nuala Quinn-Barton |
Starring | Sasko Kocev Katarina Ivanovska Richard Sammel Rade Šerbedžija Emil Ruben Mitko S. Apostolovski |
Cinematography | Klaus Fuxjager |
Edited by | Dejan Boskovic |
Music by | Kiril Džajkovski |
Production company | Kino Oko Production |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 113 minutes |
Country | North Macedonia |
Languages | |
Budget | € 2.500.000 |
The Third Half (Macedonian: Трето полувреме [ˈtrɛtɔ pɔˈɫuvrɛmɛ]) is a 2012 Macedonian film directed by Darko Mitrevski. It deals with Macedonian football during World War II and the deportation of Jews from Macedonia. It is a story of love during wartime and a country's passion for football. The government of Macedonia considered the film of national interest and funded it with one million euros.[1] The Third Half was selected as the Macedonian entry for Best Foreign Language at the 85th Academy Awards.
Plot
The film is set in what is today
Background
The Third Half depicts the history of 7,148
Cast
- Sasko Kocev as Kosta
- Katarina Ivanovska as Rebecca Cohen
- Bedija Begovska as Rebecca in 2012
- Richard Sammel as Rudolph Spitz, a Prussian footballer-turned-coach hired to coach FC Macedonia
- Rade Šerbedžija as Don Rafael Cohen, a wealthy Jewish banker and Rebecca's father
- Emil Ruben as Garvanov, a Bulgarian colonel
- Mitko S. Apostolovski as Dimitrija, the owner of FC Macedonia
- Toni Mihajlovski as Pancho
- Igor Angelov as Afrika
- Gorast Cvetkovski as Skeptic
- Oliver Mitkovski as Jordan
- Igor Stojchevski as Cezar
- Dimitrija Doksevski as Gengys
- Bajram Severdzan as Choro
- Whitney Montgomery as Rachel, Rebecca's granddaughter
- Zvezda Angelovska as Blagunja, Pancho's wife
- Verica Nedeska as Zamila, Rebecca's friend
- Petre Arsovski as Papas, Dimitrija's friend
- Meto Jovanovski as a rabbi
- Salaetin Bilal as a shoemaker
- Petar Mircevski as a barber
Production
The film was supported by the Macedonian Film Fund, the Holocaust Fund of the Jews from Macedonia, The Jewish Community of Macedonia, the Czech State Fund and the then Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. It was declared a film of national interest by the Macedonian Government. The film was shot in Skopje, Bitola and Ohrid.[6] Filming took place between September 10[7] and October 27, 2011.[8]
Reception
Writing for Cineuropa, Vladan Petković stated that The Third Half was the most ambitious Macedonian film since Before the Rain (1994). He went on to praise the setting, lauding the director for managing to "put together all the complicated details of the period and the geopolitical situation". Petković highlighted Sammel's acting as the strongest and dubbed it "the real emotional anchor of the film".[9] At Bitola's 33rd Manaki Brothers film festival, it received a standing ovation.[10]
The film was selected as the Macedonian entry for the
Controversy
In late November 2011, the Macedonian media alleged that Member of the European Parliament Doris Pack, of Germany, dismissed the Bulgarian politicians' criticism of the film.[13] Subsequently, in an extraordinary meeting of the EU Committee on Foreign Affairs attended by the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Doris Pack denied this allegation.[14][15]
In the 2021 documentary, "The Last Half", Bulgarian director Stepan Polyakov has argued that the screenplay of the film "The Third Half" differs significantly from the real events Mitrevski claims to reflect, and it even openly manipulates them.[16]
See also
- The Holocaust in Bulgaria
- List of submissions to the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Macedonian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Notes
- ^ "Селектор на Кан ќе ги гледа "Балканот..." и "Трето полувреме"" [A Cannes Representative Will Watch The Balkans... and The Third Half]. Nova Makedonija (in Macedonian). 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ Holdsworth, Nick (13 September 2012). "Macedonia sends 'Third Half' to Oscars". Variety. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ Laqueur & Tydor Baumel 2001, p. 102
- ^ a b "Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Director Of Controversial Holocaust Film Rejects 'Revisionist' Criticism, 12 December 2012". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 21 December 2012. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ Spas Tashev, The deportation of the Jews from Vardar Macedonia and Aegean region: facts and myths. Macedonian Scientic Institute, Sofia, 2012, p. 58.
- ^ "Location of filming (MKD)". Archived from the original on 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ "Filming started on the new film TTH - Sitel (MKD)". Archived from the original on 2012-01-21. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ "The filming of Darko Mitrevski' film is finished - Utrinski Vesnik (MKD)". Archived from the original on 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ Petković, Vladan (10 February 2012). "Football, love and war in The Third Half". Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ Maja Nedelkovska (17 September 2012). "Tears and Standing Ovations for "The Third Half"". Balkan Insight (BIRN). Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ ""Трето полувреме" македонски кандидат за Оскар". Утрински весник. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2012-09-13.
- ^ "Euractiv, Macedonian film infuriates Bulgaria, 29 October 2011". 28 October 2011. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ "И Дорис Пак даде гол за македонското "Трето полувреме"". Archived from the original on 2012-02-01. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
- ^ Committee on Foreign Affairs, Extraordinary meeting - Exchange of views with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 29 November 2011.
- ^ European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs
- ^ Поляков, Степан. "Филмът "Последно полувреме" – разказ за фалшификацията на историята и сложните отношения с РСМ". Bulgarian National Television. Денят започва. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
References
- Laqueur, Walter; Tydor Baumel, Judith (2001), The Holocaust Encyclopedia, ISBN 0300084323
External links
- Official website
- The Third Half at IMDb
- Darko Mitrevski website
- Euronews on The Third Half
- The Holocaust in Macedonia (source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
- The deportation of the Macedonian Jews to Treblinka (source: Yad Vashem)
- Empty Boxcars (2011) Documentary *[1] at IMDb [2] link Vimeo