Dusan Janicijevic Movies

In this well-received film, a Yugoslavian icon painter and an architect who is also Christian, get together after the communist takeover to rebuild their church, which was ruined during the war. To do so, they must fight the vigorous efforts of communist zealots to do away with everything pertaining to religion. The story encompasses the efforts of many people living during that time, who sought to survive spiritually during the worst of the anti-religious persecutions. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Music and a changing culture provide new expressions for teen angst in this insightful story of the aspirations of several teens living in Belgrade in the 1950s. Four young men and their friend Esther (Gala Videnovic) form a band, hang out, and try to adjust to their changing lifestyle. Given their class backgrounds, they do not support a Communist or Socialist point of view. When Rile (Milan Strljic ), a slightly older teen and loyal Party member, romances Esther, he gets her pregnant and leaves town in a hurry. Esther's four friends take desperate measures to help her out, and unknowingly lock in their future into place with their decisions. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this melodrama about companionship and life, two friends are released from jail for different reasons -- one has a weekend pass, and the other is terminally ill -- and they go out looking for the past they left behind when they were imprisoned. As the healthy prisoner searches for his wife and son, his view on the meaning of existence is very much affected by his dying friend. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this poignant look at the better parts of childhood, a little boy with a dog and a rabbit and a forest to play in, moves to the city with his parents -- and faces all the difficulties of adjustment to his asphalt surroundings. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A Muslim frontier guard for the Ottoman Empire in the mid-18th century is faced with decisions that he must make based on his limited knowledge of Turkish law, and of the political and religious tenets of the Serbs on the other side of the border in Bosnia Herzogovina. As a consequence of his ignorance and the harsh laws of the times, he first saves a woman from being raped and then kills her, since she has been disgraced -- an act that was motivated by adherence to the law but that leaves him in a tortured state of mind. In another violent encounter, he captures a few Greek Orthodox monks, burns their Bible, and then kills one of them. His murderous "duties" as a border guard begin to weigh more heavily on his conscience when he falls in love with a woman traveling with others through the country. His violence, willing or not, catches up with him in the end as he comes across the bodies of soldiers that had been massacred, and he must fight the forces that did the deed, no matter what the odds. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Awakening with a small but very irritating rash on his privates, a young TV reporter clashes with everyone in his life, from his lovely wife to his wealthy father-in-law and his co-workers. He sees his doctor and is given an ointment to rub onto the affected body part several times a day. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Before World War I, portions of Macedonian Yugoslavia were under the rulership of the Ottoman Empire. For centuries, it was a common Ottoman practice to take prominent local citizens or their children back to Turkey as hostages to the central government. This movie follows the adventures of a group of Turkish and Macedonian captives on their way to the capital. The brutality of their guards does not deter them from resisting, and one of their number escapes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

When an older man marries a younger woman, they find it difficult to find common ground because of their age difference. He is the veteran of a war she is too young to remember. The couple tries to share their thoughts with each other and strengthen their marriage with a weekend getaway to a resort hotel. A strange hotel employee tells the wife he know the husband from the war but he is too young to have even been in the war. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this western, the sixth in the European-produced "Winnetou" series, Old Surehand and his Apache sidekick Winnetou endeavor to capture the outlaws who killed their friend the wagon master. To do so, Winnetou volunteers to guide the leaderless wagon train across the treacherous Indian land himself. Sure enough, they encounter Navajos, but fortunately Winnetou manages to get them safe passage until an avaricious oil swindler tries to cheat local settlers out of their land and ends up killing the Navajo leader's son. Naturally the Indians assume that Winnetou has betrayed them and go to war against the settlers. Fortunately, Surehand rides to the rescue. He is accompanied by the swindler whom he captured. Peace is restored. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Although from Czechoslovakia, director Frantisek Cap has worked both in German and Yugoslav productions and demonstrates his talent in this fast-paced, effective spy drama set during World War II. Cap generates suspense throughout the story as his main character, a spy for the resistance fighters, insinuates himself into the confidence of the occupying German forces. Once they are convinced he is loyal to the Nazi cause, they send him to spy on the partisans. Thanks to his double-agent status, he is able to provide valuable information to the partisans -- but the threat of discovery always hangs over his head. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide