Krešo Golik
Encyclopedia
Krešimir "Krešo" Golik was a Yugoslav and Croatia
n film
and television
director
and screenwriter
. In a creative career spanning five decades between the late 1940s and late 1980s Golik directed a number of critically acclaimed feature film
s, short subject
s and television series.
Working almost exclusively at Zagreb
-based production companies Jadran Film
, Zagreb Film
and Croatia Film
, Golik is regarded as one of the most important directors in Croatian cinema and his 1970 comedy One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away is widely regarded as the greatest Croatian film ever made.
, where he completed his primary education. He went to the Gymnasium
and the schools of graphic design in Senj
and Zagreb
. He worked as a sports journalist on Radio Zagreb and a director of newsreels in Jadran Film
. In 1947 Golik started his professional film career. His first feature film was Plavi 9
(Blue 9, 1950). That film is a bizarre mixture of the Soviet-style industrial epic, romantic comedy and football film. It is famous for superbly directed football sequences. After release it quickly became the biggest hit of then-young Yugoslav cinema.
During the 50s, Golik directed also Djevojka i hrast (The Young Girl and the Oak, 1955). At the early sixties, one historian accidentally revealed that Golik worked as a journalist during the Ustashe Nazi regime, at the time when he was teenager. Because of that reveal, Golik was banned from directing for almost a decade, but continued working as an assistant. His comeback was marked by anthological documentary Od 3 do 22 (From 3 to 22, 1966), one of the best documentaries of the Yugoslav "black wave".
His melodrama
tic comedy film
s I Have Two Mothers and Two Fathers
(1968) and One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away (1970) were the pinnacle of his career, humorously depicting the Zagreb middle class under communism and between the world wars, respectively. Those two films (especially the latter) have been regularly included among the top 10 Croatian films of all time, both by critics and audiences. "He Who Sings..." is considered as most popular film about Zagreb, and its popularity was so huge that fast-food chain held the name of the characters of the movie.
Golik was very successful on TV too. He made TV films and dramas. His greatest TV success was another comedy: Gruntovčani, a series about the life of villagers in the Croatian region of Podravina
. It was shot in Northwestern Croatian kajkavian dialect. The success of the series encouraged the renaissance of the use of dialects in contemporary Croatian culture.
From 1979 until his retirement in 1989, he taught film direction at the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Art
. He was awarded the Vladimir Nazor Award
for a lifetime achievement. Krešo Golik died in Zagreb in September 1996.
Although he had done some artistically more pretentious work, Kreško Golik is most famous for his lightweight, entertaining films and seria. That's the reason why he is often compared to Billy Wilder and Lubitsch. Atypically for an Eastern European author, Golik is a skillful entertainer, master of irony, director who depicts his characters with sentimental humor. He is most popular film director within Croatia, and ofter considered as a best representative of the Croatian middle-class mentality.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. In a creative career spanning five decades between the late 1940s and late 1980s Golik directed a number of critically acclaimed feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s, short subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
s and television series.
Working almost exclusively at Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
-based production companies Jadran Film
Jadran Film
Jadran Film is a film production studio and distribution company founded in 1946 in Zagreb, Croatia. In the period between the early 1960s and late 1980s Jadran Film was one of the biggest and most notable film studios in Central Europe, with some 145 international and around 120 Yugoslav...
, Zagreb Film
Zagreb Film
Zagreb Film is a Croatian film-producing company from Zagreb, founded in 1953. They have produced hundreds of animated films, documentaries, television commercials, educational films and several feature films....
and Croatia Film
Croatia Film
Croatia Film d.o.o. is a film production and distribution company based in Zagreb, Croatia. It began operations in 1946, when Croatia was part of the former nation of Yugoslavia....
, Golik is regarded as one of the most important directors in Croatian cinema and his 1970 comedy One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away is widely regarded as the greatest Croatian film ever made.
Life and career
Golik was born in FužineFužine
Fužine is a village and a municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia.-Demographics:The total population of Fužine is 1,595, in the following settlements:* Belo Selo, population 52* Benkovac Fužinski, population 33...
, where he completed his primary education. He went to the Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
and the schools of graphic design in Senj
Senj
Senj , German Zengg, Hungarian Zeng and Italian Segna) is the oldest town on the upper Adriatic, and it was founded in the time before the Romans some 3000 years ago on the hill Kuk. It was the center of the Illyrian tribe Iapydes. The current settlement is situated at the foot of the slopes Mala...
and Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
. He worked as a sports journalist on Radio Zagreb and a director of newsreels in Jadran Film
Jadran Film
Jadran Film is a film production studio and distribution company founded in 1946 in Zagreb, Croatia. In the period between the early 1960s and late 1980s Jadran Film was one of the biggest and most notable film studios in Central Europe, with some 145 international and around 120 Yugoslav...
. In 1947 Golik started his professional film career. His first feature film was Plavi 9
Plavi 9
Plavi 9 is a 1950 Croatian football comedy film. The film was directed by Krešo Golik.That film is a bizarre mixture of the Soviet-style industrial epic, romantic comedy and football film. It is famous for superbly directed football sequences...
(Blue 9, 1950). That film is a bizarre mixture of the Soviet-style industrial epic, romantic comedy and football film. It is famous for superbly directed football sequences. After release it quickly became the biggest hit of then-young Yugoslav cinema.
During the 50s, Golik directed also Djevojka i hrast (The Young Girl and the Oak, 1955). At the early sixties, one historian accidentally revealed that Golik worked as a journalist during the Ustashe Nazi regime, at the time when he was teenager. Because of that reveal, Golik was banned from directing for almost a decade, but continued working as an assistant. His comeback was marked by anthological documentary Od 3 do 22 (From 3 to 22, 1966), one of the best documentaries of the Yugoslav "black wave".
His melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
tic comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
s I Have Two Mothers and Two Fathers
I Have Two Mothers and Two Fathers
I Have Two Mothers and Two Fathers is a 1968 Yugoslav comedy drama film directed by Krešo Golik.The film won the Golden Arena for Best Actress and Golden Arena for Best Cinematography at the 1968 Pula Film Festival, the Yugoslav national film awards.-External links:* at Filmski-programi.hr...
(1968) and One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away (1970) were the pinnacle of his career, humorously depicting the Zagreb middle class under communism and between the world wars, respectively. Those two films (especially the latter) have been regularly included among the top 10 Croatian films of all time, both by critics and audiences. "He Who Sings..." is considered as most popular film about Zagreb, and its popularity was so huge that fast-food chain held the name of the characters of the movie.
Golik was very successful on TV too. He made TV films and dramas. His greatest TV success was another comedy: Gruntovčani, a series about the life of villagers in the Croatian region of Podravina
Podravina
Podravina or Podravje are Slavic names for the Drava river basin in Croatia and Slovenia.-History:...
. It was shot in Northwestern Croatian kajkavian dialect. The success of the series encouraged the renaissance of the use of dialects in contemporary Croatian culture.
From 1979 until his retirement in 1989, he taught film direction at the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Art
Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb
The Academy of Dramatic Art is a Croatian drama and film school. It is one of the three art academies affiliated with the University of Zagreb, along with the Academy of Fine Arts and Academy of Music...
. He was awarded the Vladimir Nazor Award
Vladimir Nazor award
The Vladimir Nazor Award is an annual award given by the Croatian Ministry of Culture to Croatian artists for highest achievements in various artistic fields. It was established in 1959 and is named after the notable writer Vladimir Nazor...
for a lifetime achievement. Krešo Golik died in Zagreb in September 1996.
Although he had done some artistically more pretentious work, Kreško Golik is most famous for his lightweight, entertaining films and seria. That's the reason why he is often compared to Billy Wilder and Lubitsch. Atypically for an Eastern European author, Golik is a skillful entertainer, master of irony, director who depicts his characters with sentimental humor. He is most popular film director within Croatia, and ofter considered as a best representative of the Croatian middle-class mentality.
Selected filmography
- Plavi 9Plavi 9Plavi 9 is a 1950 Croatian football comedy film. The film was directed by Krešo Golik.That film is a bizarre mixture of the Soviet-style industrial epic, romantic comedy and football film. It is famous for superbly directed football sequences...
(1950; director and writer) - The Girl and the OakThe Girl and the Oak-External links:* at Filmski-Programi.hr...
(Djevojka i hrast, 1955; director) - Kala (1958; director)
- Martin in the CloudsMartin in the CloudsMartin in the Clouds is a Croatian film directed by Branko Bauer. It was released in 1961....
(Martin u oblacima, 1961; writer) - Superfluous (Prekobrojna, 1962; writer)
- Nikoletina BursaćNikoletina BursaćNikoletina Bursać is a Croatian film directed by Branko Bauer. It was released in 1964....
(1964; writer) - I Have Two Mothers and Two FathersI Have Two Mothers and Two FathersI Have Two Mothers and Two Fathers is a 1968 Yugoslav comedy drama film directed by Krešo Golik.The film won the Golden Arena for Best Actress and Golden Arena for Best Cinematography at the 1968 Pula Film Festival, the Yugoslav national film awards.-External links:* at Filmski-programi.hr...
(Imam dvije mame i dva tate, 1968; director and writer) - One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away (Tko pjeva zlo ne misli, 1970; director and writer)
- To Live on Love (Živjeti od ljubavi, 1973; director and writer)
- RazmeđaRazmeđaRazmeđa is a Croatian film directed by Krešo Golik. It was released in 1973....
(1973; director) - PucanjPucanjPucanj is a Croatian film directed by Krešo Golik. It was released in 1977....
(1977; director) - VioletViolet (1978 film)Violet is a Croatian film directed by Krešo Golik. It was released in 1978....
(Ljubica, 1978; director) - The Orchid Villa (Vila Orhideja, 1988; director and writer)
External links
- Krešo Golik biography at Filmski-Programi.hr
- Krešo Golik biography at Film.hr