SLOGANS



France-Albania, 2001, 90 min, color

In Albania in the late 70s, Andre arrives in a remote mountain village for his new teaching post at the local elementary school. His first task is to select a political slogan for his class. The choice lies between "Glory to the Revolutionary Spirit" and "American Imperialism Is Only a Paper Tiger" and choosing the shortest one proves to be to his advantage, as Andre soon learns that his class will have to outline the slogan in stone on the mountainside and any mistakes are severely punished. Everyone sees the ridiculousness of the situation, but no one would dream of questioning the strict discipline of the party. When a local shepherd is accused of having sabotaged the slogans that he could not read anyway, Andre springs to his defense, an act treated as counter-revolutionary.

"Verging somewhere between realism and the inevitable sarcasm generated in the perspective of today, the film paints a pretty delirious picture of the Envar Hoxha paradise. One would be inclined to burst into laughter if not for the feeling that the authors were not really convinced this is supposed to be funny."