Crni biseri
(1958)

AKA: Black Pearls

Country: Yugoslavia

Genre: Drama

Synopsis

A juvenile offenders' institution (formerly a monastery) located on Badija (a small island in the ?koji archipelago near Korcula in Croatia) is home to the "black pearls" - a group of delinquent boys who are considered by the authorities to be irredeemable. After a rebellion at the home, the embittered warden leaves. Some time later, the boys meet a man who suggests that they should try to fix up an old stranded ship so that they can set out to see the world. Thrilled with the idea, the boys set to work. What the boys don't at first realise is that this man is in fact Marko, the new warden, who is trying a new approach to dealing with these supposedly irredeemable kids - treating them with respect and as equals.

Notes

• Shown at the 5th Yugoslav film festival held in Pula in Croatia in 1958, where the film was awarded a diploma for artistic achievement.
• The monastery buildings which served as the juvenile offenders' home in the movie had been the home of Franciscan monks until shortly after World War II. Before 1943, this monastery had operated a school which provided education for (among others) local boys from less privileged backgrounds. After World War II, the Communist authorities decided to close the monastery, and expropriated the buildings as well as the island (which had been donated to the Franciscans in the 14th century). In 2003 the new Croatian government returned the monastery and the island back to its original owners. (By this time, however, a large number of the sacred objects, either through neglect or vandalism, had deteriorated or were lost.)

Gallery

• BA Gallery