Resistant Feet

What are resistant feet? In the imagery of social struggle and progressive movements, it’s often the hand or fist that symbolizes resistance—gripping tools, shaking in unity, or being raised in triumph. But feet? They hardly feature at all.

Yugoslav Post-War Cinema, however, literally starts with willful feet. In Na svoji zemlji (1948), an old peasant woman takes off her shoes before her execution »in order to be able to feel her home land for one last time«. In Daleko je sunce (1953), the frostbitten feet of partisan fighters limp through snow, reflecting not only their dire military situation but also their constant connection to the land they fight for.

This lecture examines these films dealing with WWII and its antifascist resistance while focusing on walking. Barefoot-to-earth, the Yugoslav partisan struggle as mediated through film embodies numerous (sometimes contradictory) things: Hopelessness and righteousness. Groundedness and the locality of the struggle—but at the same time, spatial transformation and a drive for change. A poverty of resources and vulnerability, but also a wealth of vitality and defiance. Skepticism of modernity, but also a devotion to socialist ideals of progress.