Neda Arneric Movies

Documentarian Petar Lalovic made his feature-film debut with this family drama. Student and musician Lela (Ivana Surdic) lives in Belgrade with her mother Vida (Neda Arneric), who is divorced from Dushan (Miodrag Krivokapic). When Lela gets leukemia, there are no bone-transplant donors, and Vida turns to her father, Zdravko (Velimir Zivojinovic), although she hasn't spoken to him in 20 years. He's also scratched off the blood donor list, but he insists that he can cure Lela with herbal remedies if she's removed from the poisons of the city. After a stay in the countryside, her health does indeed return -- but her parents make the mistake of bringing her back to the polluted city. Shown at the 1997 Montreal film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

A young wife looks for sexual satisfaction when her older husband fails to meet her needs in this erotic drama. The couple takes their vacation by the coast at the house of a widow and her son. The wife lusts after a young naked man she sees diving outside her room. References to Greek mythology are combined with phallic symbolism in this expertly photographed feature hampered by lackluster thesping. Only the revealing sex scenes ring true. Neda Arneric and Ranko Zidaric co-star with Stevo Zigon and Dusica Zegarac. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Screenwriter Mirko Kovac adapted his novel about the self-aggrandizing Tomislav (Rade Serbedzija. Starting with Tomislav's childhood, when he plays practical jokes on the nuns at his elite school, or spies on his brother and his wife in their bedroom, he is already offensive and secretive. These traits continue when he grows up and starts an affair with his brother's wife, and marries someone else in spite of that affair. He ends up tormenting the woman he marries through a misunderstanding, though he survives World War II thanks to her efforts. After the war he goes into politics and continues in much the same vein as in his private life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In his first movie as a director, Stevo Crvenkovski looks into the nature of human relationships and the role of destiny in their development or disintegration. Rather than using a straightforward story, the director has placed three separate relationships under scrutiny: a man and woman who re-ignite an old flame when he returns home after a long time away; two impetuous lovers who improvise an on-the-spot wedding; and a couple who are going through a divorce that may change both of them for the better. As these separate stories unfold with very little connection to each other, certain oddities in the way of strange characters or unusual behavior regularly crop up, adding points of interest. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

After suffering from the macho delusions of many men, and particularly from her coach, this champion swimmer rebels against the competitions and training she has been subjected to (not to mention being forced to endorse products) and arranges to swim the English Channel. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A much-needed new apartment complex is completely ready for tenants, and the tenants' list is already fully subscribed. However, the market price for the apartments is a little low, and the builders want to keep it unopened until they can get more money. Two would-be tenants become friends, and together they take the greedy builders to task. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In the third and last in the original Shaft (1971) series of action-packed "blaxploitation" pictures, private eye John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) travels to the "motherland," where he breaks up a modern slavery ring. Shaft is hired by a diplomat, Emir Ramila (Cy Grant), to infiltrate the criminal empire of the evil Vincent Amafi (Frank Finlay), who is kidnapping poor Africans and shipping them to Europe as slave laborers. Amafi murdered Ramila's son when he attempted to expose the illegal operation, and Ramila, now aware that his investigation of Amafi has been compromised, needs an unfamiliar to face to help bring the ring leader down. After undergoing some training at the hands of a comely tutor so that he'll be able to pass muster as an African, Shaft travels to Ethiopia and allows himself to be shanghaied by Amafi's men. However, the high-ranking Wassa (Debebe Eshetu) is the traitor in Ramila's ranks, and he has betrayed Shaft. As the tough private eye attempts to free the slaves being held captive in a former Nazi prison below a French chateau and bed any beautiful women who crosses his path, he must also dodge a series of assassination attempts by Ramila's men. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

This Italian feature caters to a self-congratulatory stereotype of male virility which many an Italian male might fantasize as being true for himself. Paolo is from the lower ranks of the Sicilian nobility, and he shares his grandfather's penchant for beautiful women. Indeed, he proved his readiness for bedroom sports at age 10, when he beat his grandfather to the bed of a lovely young new house servant. As a grownup, Paolo (Giancarlo Giannini) now lives in Rome and cuts a wide swath through the female population of that town. Though the depiction of his succession of conquests is repetitive, one of the film's highlights is the great beauty of the numerous women he has encounters with. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The battle of the partisans in Yugoslavia against the Germans and Chetniks has been a subject of enduring fascination for Yugoslavian filmmakers. This epic state-funded film explores the 67 days during which the partisans controlled an area called Uziche and declared it to be a republic. Many stories are woven into this tale, including several love stories. Also featured is Marshall Tito both as portrayed by an actor and in newsreel footage. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

After his father dies, an engineering student returns to his mountain-village home, encountering old rivalries. Unable to find work in the city befitting his education, he opens up a collective sheep farm, gets married, and commits several acts of mayhem out of sheer boredom before resigning himself to his lot. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi