Mirjana Karanovic Movies

Writer/director Andrea Staka's Das Fräulein paints an exceptionally sensitive, multilayered, and richly textured portrait of a blossoming friendship between two adult women. Mirjana Karanovic is Ruza, a Slavic émigré in her fifties, who years ago transplanted herself from her native Serbia to Zurich, Switzerland. Quiet, introverted, and stoic, she runs a canteen business in the city and trusts absolutely no one, building her life exclusively around income. She and her Croatian associate, Mila (Ljubica Jovic), are confronted with the sudden arrival of Ana (Marija Skaricic), a much younger Bosnian drifter, who enchants Ruza with her fresh spontaneity and zest for life, but still draws some coldness from the Serbian woman. Despite a shared ethnic background, Ruza initially insists on communicating with Ana in German and scarcely acknowledges their common cultural identity. Nonetheless, in time, barriers begin to recede, and a tenuous, delicate bond of friendship forms between the two women. Staka uses the bulk of the drama to explore this relationship in all of its nuances and complexities, conveying the women's inner emotional landscapes with an intelligent use of cinematic language and visual flourishes. Instead of simply using Zurich as a backdrop, Staka employs the city -- both cosmopolitan and yet somewhat distancing -- as one of the story's central characters. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A woman sees her own traumatic past reflected in the actions of her teenage daughter in this drama from first-time writer and director Jasmila Zbanic. Esma (Mirjana Karanovic) is a single mother trying to raise her teenage daughter, Sara (Luna Mijovic), in Sarajevo in the wake of war. While Esma works as a barmaid at a nightclub run by Saran (Bogdan Diklic), a man on the wrong side of the law, she has trouble making ends meet, and receives occasional benefits payments from a support group for women who have been affected by the war. Esma has little interest in talking about the loss of her husband, whom she claims was a hero fighting for Bosnia, and can become hyper-emotional with little provocation. As Pelda (Leon Lucev), one of Esma's co-workers at the club, attempts to interest her in romance, Esma notices that Sara has caught the eye of Samir (Kenan Catic), a rebellious young man who is one of her classmates. As Esma tries to discourage Sara from becoming involved with Samir, she finds fate has forced her to tell her daughter the truth about her father. Grbavica received its world premiere at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Dusan Milic's hostage film Jagoda in the Supermarket stars Branka Katic in the title role. She is a 30-year-old cashier who, after seeing someone else steal the man she wanted to date, makes the mistake of refusing to sell an elderly woman some strawberries. The next day the woman's grandson, Marko (Srdjan Todorovic), walks into the store firing weapons and taking hostages. Eventually the relationship between Jagoda and Marko deepens and grows more complex. Jagoda in the Supermarket was screened at the Berlin Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

An unpredictable black comedy with an epic scope, Emir Kusturica's highly acclaimed Underground takes a look at the modern history of Yugoslavia through the often absurd misadventures of two friends over several decades. The film begins in Belgrade in 1941, establishing the friendship between the gregarious Blacky and the more intellectual Marko during a drunken, late-night musical procession that establishes the riotous tone to follow. Fellow members of the Communist Party, the friends also share an involvement in shady business activities and an attraction for a beautiful actress. Soon, the chaos of World War II forces them to take refuge in an underground shelter with a variety of other townspeople. Years pass and the war ends, but Marko and the actress trick the others into believing that the war is still going on. Kusturica turns this inherently absurd premise into a vibrant portrait of the contradictory, foolish nature of war. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, the film received great acclaim on the festival circuit but had a hard time securing a release in the United States. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Fans of political dramas which delve into the ways in which Eastern bloc communist governments wrought havoc on ordinary human values and lives will appreciate this Yugoslavian political allegory, set in 1963. In the story, a woman was forced to choose between testifying (falsely) against her husband in a political trial, or losing custody of her youngest child. As a result, her husband was put in prison for almost fifteen years. The girl was told that her father had died, and the man is desperately trying to seek her out. As he does so, numerous anthills of secrecy get overturned, resulting in a plague of murders, rapes and suicides, before the long-sought reunion is achieved. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This is classified as a rollicking comedy in Yugoslavian territories, despite having a story dealing with a realistic and horrifying catalogue of woes. In the film, seven women friends have grown tired of working for a farmer who refuses to pay their wages. They steal one of his tractors to go into town. There, they employ a black-market labor operative to help them find work in Munich. He takes their money and passports to try and help them do just this but winds up arrested before he can do anything to help them. The women are then forced to go through a local health exam to be passed as eligible for work, and after that, they somehow pull through, despite a series of rapes, pregnancies, and beatings. When they finally do get a job together at a new factory, they discover that the factory has no access to raw materials and will shortly be shutting down. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Framing this interesting, dramatic story about a cooperative farm's seething conflicts is a trial for murder. The story, told largely in flashbacks, deals with Markan (Bata Zivojinovic), the leader of a large cooperative who was instrumental in getting forcibly displaced, independent farmers settled into the new farming commune. Not everyone (in fact almost no one) is in agreement with this new system, and Markan's biggest opponent is an outspoken old-timer named Milisa (Vjenceslav Kapural). Milisa is argumentative, and his conniving wife helps him to hide cows and grain from the prying eyes of the collective's boss. As tensions escalate, a dispute leads to Milisa's murder and now Markan is on trial before a jury of the people. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In just one 24-hour period, the workers and students at a Czech school are thrown into an upheaval because of a few disconnected events. The housekeeper/custodian at the school is retiring and since everyone found out rather late, a hasty retirement party is being put together at the last minute. Amidst the frenzied activity of preparations, an inspector is wandering here and there to check out accusations of sexual harassment against the assistant director. The protagonists are hard-put to pull off a successful party, and they resolve the accusations before the school comes apart at the seams. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide