Mija Aleksic Movies

Set against the backdrop of a liberalization in Marshal Tito's Yugoslavia in 1968, this comedy is about the coming of age of Petar (Slavko Stimac) as he looks for love just about anywhere, now that he has discovered it exists. His father (Danilo Stojkovic) is a distant sort who wants him to focus on his grades so he will have a chance at a good future (and be a good Marxist), but Petar's card-shark of a grandfather understands and offers him the advice he needs. Meanwhile, Petar has a crush on his beautiful teacher and wreaks havoc with his academic standing by trying to get back at her for bathing in the river with her male companion. This affront to his feelings is soon forgotten when he meets a charming young miss who is visiting the town with a youth orchestra -- and love takes off from there. Reminiscent of the theme of budding adolescence in earlier films like Black Peter by Milos Forman or Jiri Menzel's Closely Watched Trains, director Goran Paskaljevic shares his famous fellow Czechs' comic insight into the throes of first and uneasy love. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Sometimes handling the dead can be almost as difficult as handling the living, according to the Topalovic family and its many members -- from great-grandparents on down. They are losing ground in the fight to keep their cemetery business from going under and have had to make a clandestine alliance with n'er-do-well entrepreneurs that will supply them with recycled coffins at a cheap price -- an alliance that has kept the family in heavy debt to the grave-digging crooks. Meanwhile, young Mirko Topalovic has fallen in love with the daughter of one of the increasingly wealthy partners in the used coffin business. She works for a movie theater as a pianist (it is the era when silents are on the way out) and the owner of the theater has not yet fired her and switched to talkies because he wants her for himself. He suggests that they make a movie together -- an erotic movie he thinks to himself -- but seduction is his only goal. When Mirko starts to help out in this movie project, he comes to realize what is actually going on and overpowered by rage, he kills the woman and the theater owner. Puffed up with his aggressive deed, he goes home to convince the Topalovic family that they have to take up arms against the usurious grave-diggers -- and a wild and bloody melée ensues that will determine the fate of the family. Jelisaveta Sablic won the "Best Actress" award at the 1982 Pula Film Festival for her role as the sought-after female lead in this film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Cafe patrons are forced to decide what side to fight on when the Nazis invade Yugoslavia in World War II. When the Nazi flag is raised in town, they go underground to discuss their political allegiances. A core of partisans holds out against the Germans as the enemy tracks them down. When a Czech acrobat comes to town, both sides put off the fighting long enough to witness his high wire act. His symbolic walk temporarily unites people in the middle of the war in this satirical World war II saga. The title refers to the mode of transportation used by both sides of the conflict. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This political drama finds a young couple divided between love and loyalty to their countries. A Russian boy and a Yugoslav girl fall in love and are encouraged to marry. When diplomatic relations between their two countries turn icy, their burning passions are frozen by the Cold War. In parallel stories, a German female officer tries to adjust to civilian life, and another officer feels displaced when the fighting is over. The war heroes of yesterday are the menial workers of today, as people's daily struggles are complicated by the difficulties between the two countries. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The Yugoslavian leading man Bekim Fehmiu plays a charismatic but mean-spirited gypsy, married to the submissive woman (Olivera Vuco). The gypsy couple's various escapades end up in a desperate flight from the Law. The authenticity of I Even Met Happy Gypsies is amplified by the use of genuine Gypsy melodies on the soundtrack; in addition, the film was shot in a near-extinct Gypsy language called Romany, requiring the film to carry subtitles even when released in Yugoslavia. I Even Met Happy Gypsies was the recipient of an award at the Cannes Film Festival, and was later nominated for a "best foreign picture" Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide