In an era of revolutionary change, one man stands by the values he learned during WW2. Decorated in his heyday, this person now finds himself challenged by women, their values undermining and threatening his. As Albania begins to see the value of two genders, The Captain showcases a solitary struggle to maintain dignity in a changing world. Situated in the heart of this transformative landscape comes Uncle Sulo (Albert Vërria), a man who was considered a staple of his generation, but now threatens to be exiled for old-fashioned views.
Although a comedy at heart, The Captain serves as a type of commentary on social issues; detailing the importance of women as social thinkers. Many of the feature’s more impressively nuanced performances come from the actresses, whether it is Zagora Shuke’s stern wife, or Flora Mërtiri’s ice-cold demeanour as the Chairwoman of the cooperatives. The rise of female influence on this Albanian town causes consternation, leading to some wacky setpieces. Humouring himself, Sulo dances with the gusto of a boy reaching manhood, but his grey hairs betray the senile being he is swiftly turning into.
Contextually, this work serves as a fable of sorts, pitying the old who cannot embrace the new. Secluding himself in his village, the titular character surveys his environment, equating his worth with that of the world around him. The nubile younger women, with long flowing hair, threaten the sanctity of the husky, moustache wearing men, who fear the tide of change. In a delirious dream sequence, one man is captured by a tank driven by girl soldiers, who take him prisoner. The protagonist’s chauvinism and dim view of the opposite sex haunts him even in his private moments.
Around the eponymous hero comes modification, as younger people populate the streets, bringing a newer, more rock heavy energy with them. Searching for an item he lost in a bin, the old man bumps into a glamorous-looking mother who makes him look dowdy by comparison. Indeed, he’s a fish out of water, an artifact in the ever growing museum of life.
The 1970s was a time of liberation for feminists across the world, but the War was still fresh 30 years later in the minds of those who lived through it. The Captain serves as a document of sorts: a reminder of a time when the fervency of modification was met with resistance by the older guard. As it happens, the older man stands on a bus with Chaplinesque demeanour, hopelessly being pushed by the younger folk entering and leaving the vehicle.
The Captain hints at slapstick, but never plunges headfirst into the genre. But the flippant facial touches Vërria brings to the movie help settle the emotional undertones, and though he may come across as antiquated in his views, Uncle Sulo is charming in his own way. He’s a jaunty contrarian. True, the film loses half a star for some of the awkward sound edits, the strings blare over the characters in a style that was out of date even by 1972, but by and large, this story holds up beautifully decades after its release. And as a portal into a bygone era, it stands up as a study of less progressive behaviours.
This Albanian drama bears some similarities with an unlikely film, made less than a decade earlier: the Beatles docudrama A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester, 1964). Both films were shot in black and white, presumably for budgetary reasons. The absence of colour highlights the absence of progress in a world pivoting toward revolution. Vërria’s character mirrors Wilfrid Brambell’s grandfather, two relics of the war doing what they can to in order to keep afloat among younger people.
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