''Brcko in Zagreb'' (''Brcko u Zagrebu'') is a 1917

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n short comedy film directed by Arsen Maas. The film, created by a band of Zagreb-based theatrical actors and produced by Croatia Film k.d., features a simple plot in which Brcko, the titular protagonist, comes from a province to the big city. It premiered on 28 August 1917 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, making it the first Croatian

fictional film Narrative film, fictional film or fiction film is a motion picture that tells a fictional or fictionalized story, event or narrative. Commercial narrative films with running times of over an hour are often referred to as feature films, or feature ...

. Like all other Croatian fictional films of the era, ''Brcko in Zagreb'' is now considered

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. The identity of Arsen Maas remained unknown until 2014, when it was discovered to be an alias of Ante Masovčić, previously known for his theater-related work, and for being a subject of a well-known painting by

Miroslav Kraljević Miroslav Kraljević (14 December 1885 – 16 April 1913) was a Croatian painter, printmaker and sculptor, active in the early part of the 20th century. He is one of the founders of modern art in Croatia. Kraljević studied painting in Vienna an ...

Plot

Brcko, a provincial salesman (Arnošt Grund), comes to Zagreb and meets a diva from the operetta (Irma Polak). He takes her to various places, including a public swimming pool on the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

, and buys her a new outfit. Brcko's wife learns about what is going on in Zagreb. She arrives in the city and finds the two sitting in a café. The wife makes a scene and sprays Brcko in the face with a soda water syphon. תל אביב - גב' אירמה פולאק-JNF035666

Background, release and legacy

''Brcko in Zagreb'' was a creation of a group of actors – Arnošt Grund, Irma Polak, Tonka Savić and Stjepan Bojničić – who were members of the ensemble of the

Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb ( hr, Hrvatsko narodno kazalište u Zagrebu), commonly referred to as HNK Zagreb, is a theatre, opera and ballet house located in Zagreb. Overview The theatre evolved out of the first city theatre opened ...

, and had also performed in

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

acts. They felt the time had come to shoot their first film. The film's screenplay was based on ''Alaj su nas nasamarili'' (''They Played a Trick on Us'', 1912), a then-popular comedy play written by Grund, a Czech-born actor and theatre director known for his numerous comedic roles. The film was produced by Croatia k.d., established in 1917 by Hamilkar Bošković and Julio Bergman, which was the first Croatian film production company. The actors performed virtually as amateurs, with almost no compensation. ''Brcko in Zagreb'' premiered on 28 August 1917 in Metropol Cinema in Zagreb (later known as Capitol Cinema and Zagreb Cinema), making it the first Croatian fictional film. It was shown in a number of cinemas across Croatia and was very popular. No copies of the film have been preserved, and it is now considered

, sharing the fate of all other feature films from the earliest days of

Croatian cinema The cinema of Croatia has a somewhat shorter tradition than what is common for other Central European countries: the serious beginning of Croatian cinema starts with the rise of the Yugoslavian film industry in the 1940s. Three Croatian feat ...

, none of which survived in entirety. All that is known about it is based on contemporary newspaper articles and advertisements, as well as several surviving stills. In 2017, on the 100th anniversary of the film's release, the

Croatian Post Croatian may refer to: *Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * Se ...

issued a stamp commemorating the event. Today, the main prize of the PSSST! Silent Film Festival, held annually in Zagreb since 2007, is named the Brcko Grand Prize, after the protagonist of the first Croatian silent film.

Identity of Arsen Maas

The identity of the film's director, credited as Arsen Maas, was accidentally discovered after being a mystery for almost a century. In 2014, Croatian film archivist and historian Daniel Rafaelić visited a retrospective exhibition of

, held in Modern Gallery in Zagreb. Under the painting titled ''Bonvivant'' – one of Kraljević's most important works – he noticed a legend which identified the subject as Ante Masovčić, also known under the alias of Arsen Mazoff. Rafaelić immediately suspected that Masovčić and Maas are the same person, and subsequent research quickly found strong corroborating evidence. Ante Masovčić (1889–1948) became friends with Kraljević in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and was 23 years old when he posed for the painting. He wrote theater reviews for ''Obzor'', a Zagreb-based newspaper, and mingled with actors and artists. According to

Tin Ujević Augustin Josip "Tin" Ujević (; 5 July 1891 – 12 November 1955) was a Croatian poet, considered by many to be the greatest poet in 20th century Croatian literature. From 1921, he ceased to sign his name as Augustin, thereafter using the sig ...

, Masovčić was "well-known in the theatrical and bohemian circles of Paris". At the time of release of ''Brcko in Zagreb'', Masovčić was the secretary of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, which also employed the entire main cast of the film. In the last decade of his life, Masovčić worked as a diplomat. ''Brcko in Zagreb'' most probably remained his only film work.

Notes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0305331 1917 films Silent short films Austro-Hungarian films Croatian comedy films Croatian black-and-white films Croatian films based on plays Films based on works by Croatian writers Films set in Zagreb Lost Croatian films 1917 comedy films 1917 lost films Lost comedy films Silent comedy films