The Ballad of the Trumpet and the Cloud

Première: 11 October 2024, Mini Theatre

Running time 2 hours and 40 minutes. One intermission.

Director Žiga Hren
 

The Ballad of the trumpet and the cloud tells the story of a farm in the coastal region of Tolmin within the framework of a narrative about the writer. This narrative is not only the story of Jernej Temnikar, an old farmer and his heroism, but of what heroism brings with it and what is left behind.

That is why the external context - the narrative of the writer Majcen trying to write a story about a hero - is important for understanding the work. We learn from the very beginning that Temnikar's expedition to kill the members of the White Guard who set out to kill the partisans is a heroic act. The hero stories are also clear. They do not focus on whether the hero will succeed (if he does not, then he would not be a hero and would not be written about), but rather on how and what challenges he will have to face before, at the limits of his abilities, he will nevertheless achieve his goal. Temnikar's physical strength is failing, he struggles with internal dilemmas, whether he should go on a long walk in the snow and try to save the partisans, or stay at home and live out his (peaceful) death. And he decides to g. In doing so, she commits himself to death, but he does not sacrifice himself. There are few people who live in such isolation that they do not, knowingly or unknowingly, draw others into their sacrifice. He also sacrifices his family and the whole farm. The Nazis come for revenge. Their arrival is not a surprise to Temnikar, as long as he has thought at all about the consequences of his decision, and also not for the readers of the work. The burning of the area (and its people), as a "retaliatory measure" for direct or indirect support of the partisan movement, was a known behavioral pattern of the occupiers. Burning is neither an exception nor a surprise, but the rule and a pre-calculated possible consequence (it does not diminish the value of the occupiers' crimes, nor does it justify them).

Why does the consequence that leads Temnikar's heroism to arson surprise Majcen? This is where Ciril Kosmač separates himself from Majcen, who could be identified as his alter ego. Kosmač knows that there are no heroes in war. Majcen still believes that he can create a pure hero, which is why the real anti-hero in the text is not some member of the White Guard, but the farmer Črnilogar, who hosts Majcen with his wife Črnilogarica. In front of Majcen's eyes (although he is blinded by his creativity), Črnilogar is confronted with a sense of guilt that is eating away at him. Behind the fateful decisions of the (un)realised heroes there remain living people who have to live with the consequences of those decisions. In the novel, these are the female characters Temnikarica, Črnilogarica and, in a slightly more active but strictly romanticised role, Javorka. In traditionally more passive positions, they raise questions of privilege and responsibility in decision-making and, ultimately, who will remain to carry on the world.

Iva Štefanija Slosar