Specijal - Ronald Bergan
Thus spoke Ronald Bergan…
There’s a common fallacy that anyone can review a film. But how can you do it if you don’t have the proper tools to ‘read’ a film?
They should have seen Jean-Luc Godard's Histoire du Cinema, and every film by Carl Dreyer, Robert Bresson, Jean Renoir, Luis Buñuel and Ingmar Bergman, as well as those of Jean-Marie Straub and Danielle Huillet, and at least one by Germaine Dulac, Marcel L'Herbier, Mrinal Sen, Marguerite Duras, Mikio Naruse, Jean Eustache and Stan Brakhage. They should be well versed in Russian constructivism, German expressionism, Italian neorealism, Cinema Novo, La Nouvelle Vague and the Dziga Vertov group. These should be the minimum requirements before anyone can claim to be a film critic. But then, they might never get a job because they would then "know too much about cinema".
Ronald Bergan (“What every film critic must know”)
But what of the humble film critic grinding out his copy weekly and feigning objectivity? Is it possible for a male, female, white, black, homosexual, left-wing, right-wing, or bourgeois critic to assess films in the same objective manner and not let these truths colour their writings in some way, even unconsciously. Does one's nationality and language play a part? Can a critic be objective when faced with the politics of a film that he or she finds anathema? Is the ideology of a film as important in judging it as the aesthetics?
Nonetheless, if objective film criticism, like democracy, is never attainable, it should not discourage critics from trying to achieve it. Anything that minimises the complex personality of the critic standing between the film - that obscure object of desire - and the prospective viewer, must surely be encouraged…
Critics should never recommend a film. How can a critic recommend a film to a bunch of complete strangers? It's comparable to someone meeting a stranger on a train who recommends the book he is reading without knowing anything about the other person's tastes. The review itself will allow one make up one's own mind whether to see the film or not.
Ronald Bergan (“Objective film criticism: an impossible task?”)
When the painful news of Ronald Bergan’s death was broken to me by an email message in the morning hours of 24th July (“I am sorry to let you know that Ronald passed away at 22.50 last night. He passed away peacefully with Catriona at his side”), I felt shocked and devastated. Our last communication was on 21st June, as he was telling me he was preparing a special piece for the Camera Lucida’s 10th anniversary, but he, suddenly, fell ill and I was updated on his state by his kind and patient friend Tom. Since that sinister date, I have been trying to write something meaningful in my introduction to this special issue of Camera Lucida, dedicated entirely and exclusively to Ronald Bergan, a prominent film critic, exquisite scholar and my dear friend, an obituary I thought I would never have to do on, probably, the most conscientious and greatest obituarists of all. I haven’t even attempted to match the subtlety and care with which he honoured many film greats in his devoted and nuanced obituaries, as my highly subjective piece will most certainly, although unwillingly, fail most of Ronald’s film critic ‘rules’. But in these sad circumstances, this is not an ordinary piece of film criticism, at least not for me, and I will not present his official biography nor list all his authorial works (most of which I have read, most signed by the author). Thus, I’ve decided that Ronald’s texts of film criticism will have a greater echo than my own words, all previously published in Camera Lucida, which he eagerly and ceaselessly supported for 10 years, since its baby steps until his death. His texts are followed by beautifully and specially written pieces by our film colleagues, with varying degrees of subjective tones: Mike Ott, Steven Yates, Eva Peydró, Alin Tasciyan, Ian Christie, Clive Hirschhorn, Derek Malcolm.
During my first encounter with Ronald Bergan at one of Fipresci GA’s, I was impressed by his immense film knowledge and his sharp wit, but I also enjoyed his pithy sarcastic humour. We easily agreed on most topics related to film aesthetics, preference of some authors over others, various issues within the mainstream film industry (gender, ethnic, racial, immigrant, minority issues etc.), the world politics, and this concordance of views continued for many years, as we both expressed our concern and resentment with the accelerated dehumanisation and un-democratisation of our societies. Festival juries with him were a special treat, as he was able to convince any juror of a hesitant film choice, with his gentle but firm approach, quiet voice and consistent tone, imbued with innocuous sarcasm and abundant in funny comments.
We met at Fipresci General Assemblies, served on juries of film festivals, he visited Montenegro on two occasions: first, for the Camera Lucida’s inaugural event in 2010, which coincided with his birthday, so we surprised him with the double feast of two birthday cakes, and he, pleasantly surprised, could not stop thanking us in his messages for many months afterwards; his second visit to Montenegro, this time in Kotor, took place in September, 2012 to support the first (and the only) edition of MOFFEM-Montenegro Film Festival of the Mediterranean, which I had founded and of which he was the Artistic Director. On that occasion, he was not tired (in spite of the monsoon rain days in Kotor) to travel to Podgorica and give lectures at the UDG University (where I was the Faculty of Arts dean at the time), enthusiastically and expertly talking to students about almost every film topic they wanted to know but didn’t dare ask…
When we were unable to meet at festivals, we continued our vibrant film discussions by email, the correspondence which I will cherish, with parts of it published here, which let Ronald the author and Ronald the humanist speak. Besides his authorial dedication and humanist concern he expressed for colleagues, friends and students, highly touching was his devotion to his wife, of whom he continually affectionately and gently took care. No festival events and parties could come before Catriona’s well-being. Catriona is an amazing person herself, erudite, sophisticated, charming and candid, always trying not to miss any festival film or homage and fervently engaging in our film discussions, in spite of her poor health. It was a great pleasure to be in the company of such an extraordinary couple, entirely loyal and devoted to each other.
Unimposing, warm, insightful, funny, honest, caring, discreet about himself and his life, modest about his career success, medals, awards and all sorts of achievements, he talked/wrote and we listened/read. My consolation now is that I learned from the best of the best. Ronald Bergan (né Ronald Edward Ginsberg in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 20th November 1937, died on 23rd July, 2020) was one of the rare scholars/theorists/critics that lived as he wrote and talked (a man not separating his writing from his lived reality), thus becoming my unparalleled mentor, whose ‘teachings’ I will attempt to follow as long as I live.
Camera Lucida also pays tribute to another great film and music figure - Ennio Morricone, in the obituary by Aleksandar Becanović.
Maja Bogojević
