Father Stephen Freeman considers Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, whom Jesus raised after four days in the tomb, to be a sign of the “universal entombment. Even before we die, we have frequently begun to inhabit our tombs. We live our life with the doors closed (and we stink). Our hearts can be places of corruption and not the habitation of the good God. Or, at best, we ask Him to visit us as He visited Lazarus. That visit brought tears to the eyes of Christ. The state of our corruption makes him weep. It is such a contradiction to the will of God. We were not created for the tomb.”[i]
The entombment of a street artist named Lazar Ostojic is the subject of the fascinating new film by the husband and wife film-making team of Ivan (director)and Monja (writer) Jovic. The film is entitled Lazarus Path and viewing the film allows the audience to understand the path Lazarus took to get into the dilemma we find him at the beginning of the film. And to see the path he attempts to unravel his mess of a life.
Set on an unnamed island, the location reinforces the reference made to the Island of the Odyssey’s Lotus Eaters and Tennyson’s famous poem “The Lotus-Eaters”. Lotus fruits and flowers (in the film represented by watermelons) were the primary food of Homer’s island and were a narcotic, causing the inhabitants to sleep in peaceful apathy. Seeking freedom from the cares of the world and the demands of relationships, after they ate the lotus, they would forget their home and loved ones and long only to stay with their fellow lotus-eaters. Those who ate the plant never cared to report or return.
Figuratively, ‘lotus-eaters” denotes “people who spend their time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with the practical concerns of living among people in community”.
Lazarus, seeking freedom, left his parents to pursue the solitary career as street artist, posing in frozen tableaus, oblivious of those around him and even of time and space. He married and had a child, but left them too, seeking the “freedom” of street artistry.
On the island Lazarus is sent from one bureaucrat to another trying to get the necessary papers signed and filed in his cardboard bank file box which he carries around. The box contains what American’s call “his permanent record,” only ever partially available to him. The Box will become his ossuary at death.
Lazarus learns reluctantly that his “freedom occurred to [him] in the moment [he]found the strength to regret the choices [he] made on [his] path through life.
Finally Lazarus meets his Father who takes him into a church on the island.
The film, directed by Ivan Jovic, is beautifully made, suggesting the art of no less than Andrey Tarkovsky. The actors cast, especially Ivan Bosiljcic as Lazarus and Zarko Radic as his Father are stellar. Simon Tansek’s cinematography is stunning from detailed closeups to soaring overhead shots, as is the provocative editing by Alecsander Jacic. The music of Vasilis Tsabropoulous with the vocalization by Nektaria Karantzi bathe the images in reverence.
The script by Monja Jovic could not be more timely. The Covid Pandemic institutionalized the cry for freedom and accentuated the isolation of millions and the breaking up of communities. Our responsibilities to one another seem frayed and tattered.
Lazarus Path is a beautiful artistic mirror of our contemporary world, and a gentle call for us to seek the resurrection of our God-given image as members of God’s people.
Look for Lazarus Path at the Chicago’s Serbian Film Festival this December. You will be glad you did.
[i] https://glory2go forallthings.com/2012/04/05/in-lazarus-tomb/