Boris Komnenic Movies

Directed by Srdjan Karanovic, Sjaj u Ocima (Loving Glances) is set in 1995 Belgrade. Despite a war raging in the background, young people throughout the country are trying in vain to fall in love and get married, as they feel a normal life would ensconce them. When refugee Labud (Senad Alihodzic), a draft-dodging Serbian student, comes to the city without a job or dime to his name, he turns to a marriage broker (Milena Dravic) to help him find the woman of his dreams. He is paired with Romana (Ivana Bolanca), a pretty Belgrader who, despite a sophisticated facade, is also a penniless refugee. Sjaj u Ocima also features Jelena Dokic. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

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, Rovi

The idyllic communal life of a woman and her two lovers comes under a bit of stress when the woman, a champion long-distance runner, wins an international meet and is later accused of using drugs to give her an edge in the race. This sheds unwanted light on her home life, and is irritating enough for her to end her track career -- something that would have happened anyway because she discovers she is pregnant. One of the two men in her life wants to marry her, the other is in a dilemma and proposes bringing their situation out in a live, televised broadcast so that the public can help them decide what to do -- an event with a great potential for disaster. As this story reaches for its climactic ending, the scene switches to a hippie/punk who has commandeered a bus and is being pursued by the police in a wild chase down the streets of Belgrade. He ends up in jail and when his girlfriend comes along, they embrace as though held together by Velcro. The police cannot figure out a way to pull them apart -- or what to do next. Director Darko Bajic won the award for "Best First Film" for this movie at the 1982 Pula Film Festival. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Dani Od Snova is a routine, slightly superficial look at a young woman's romantic coming-of-age. The attractive teen is tending a flock of sheep in the middle of nowhere, nowhere except for an adjacent military base. One of the pilots at the base has a penchant for flying low over the sun-bathing maiden as he snaps a photo or two of her on the ground. This is a whole new way of making a pass, but it works. He later arranges to contact her and brings his photos with him, along with his dishonorable intentions. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi