The Old School of Capitalism

(Stara škola kapitalizma, Želimir Žilnik, Serbia 2009, 122 min., 35mm, Serbian w/subtitles)

Želimir Žilnik. The Old School of Capitalism is rooted in the first wave of workers revolts to hit Serbia since the end of state socialism. Desperate workers bulldoze through factory gates and are devastated to discover the site looted by the bosses. Eccentrically escalating confrontations—including a melee with workers in football shoulder pads and helmets and the boss and his security force in bulletproof vests—prove fruitless. Committed young anarchists offer solidarity and take the bosses hostage. A Russian tycoon, a Wall Street trader, and US Vice President Biden’s visit to Belgrade unexpectedly complicate events. Along the way, the film produces an increasingly complex and yet unfailingly lively account of present-day—in fact, up-to-the-minute—struggles under the misery-inducing effects of both local and global capital.