''The Way Steel Was Tempered'' () is a 1988 Yugoslav film directed by

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n director

Želimir Žilnik Želimir Žilnik ( sr-Cyrl, Желимир Жилник; ; born 8 September 1942) is a Serbian film director best known as one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave film movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Early life Žilnik was born in 19 ...

. It was nominated for a Golden St. George award at the

16th Moscow International Film Festival The 16th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 July 1989. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Italian film '' The Icicle Thief'' directed by Maurizio Nichetti. Jury * Andrzej Wajda (Poland – President of the Jury) * G ...

and has been screened at festivals worldwide such as the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

. It was also shown at the Pyongyang Film Festival.

Plot

A steel worker, Leo, tries to live a carefree life, but his progress towards that goal is impeded by the steel mill management that does its best to earn a

profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...

before the steel bubble bursts and the company goes under. Leo and his comrades are faced with a bleak and uncertain future. As this trouble with his employment goes on, he meets a woman named Verica and becomes involved in an extramarital affair with her. His wife, Ruža, fed up with her husband's constant cheating and dishonesty

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

s him and goes back to live with her parents, leaving Leo behind. As she takes her leave, she meets Michel, the head of security at Leo's steel mill. Michel is a

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

and an ex-

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

. After seeing them together, Leo is faced with emotional turmoil and manages to lose his job after a jealous outburst. In a fit of anger Leo attempts to knock down a monument in the town square, and is sent to

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

. Oddly enough, after being sent to prison Leo ends up working back at the steel mill, as the factory and the prison have a deal in using prisoners as general laborers. Foreign business partners arrive and they are very impressed with the historic appearance of the mill and the workers that they decide that the whole place be put under

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

. The foreign partners, being passionate collectors of socialist realism take a liking to Leo and take him with them as a "perfect specimen." Several years later he returns - triumphantly - driving a new

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

car.

Cast

* Lazar Ristovski as Leo * Tatjana Pujin as Lili * Relja Bašić as Michel * Ljiljana Blagojević as Ruža

References

External links

*
Home Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Way Steel Was Tempered 1988 films Serbo-Croatian-language films 1980s Serbian-language films Films directed by Želimir Žilnik Serbian drama films Yugoslav drama films Films set in Novi Sad 1988 drama films Films shot in Serbia