Ljiljana Blagojevic Movies

A young man attempts to fulfill the last wish of his dying grandfather in director Emil Kusturica's quirky romantic comedy Just outside of Belgrade, a man named Tsane (Uros Milovanovic) lives on a remote hilltop with his grandfather Deda (Aleksander Bercek) and Cvetka the family cow. Apart from Tsane and Deda, the only other inhabitant of the tiny village is a teacher named Bosa (Ljilana Blagojevic). One day, Deda announces to Tsane that he is dying, and that before he passes away he wants his grandson to travel to the nearest town and sell Cvetka at the market. With the money that he makes from the sale of the cow, Tsane is to purchase a religious icon and any other items he wishes. Before the young man returns home, however, his must also find a wife. Though the prospect of finding a bride before his grandfather dies will indeed prove a formidable task for Tsane, just when it seems that all hope he runs into the beautiful Jasna (Marija Petronijevic) - who is late for school once again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This story is set in Sarajevo in 1941 when the Germans occupied the city, and when Muslims, Christians, and Jews supported each other (for the most part) against the foreign military presence. A Muslim patriarch is hiding a Jewish woman in his house to protect her from the German round-ups. The Christians who live nearby are also hiding weapons and resistance fighters, dissimulating when the Germans come to the door to search their houses. Ibrahim, one of the patriarch's sons, sympathizes with the resistance, but another son, Mustafa, has joined up with the occupying forces because he wants some of the loot that is bound to come his way. It does not take long for the turncoat son to meet the Jewish woman at his home -- and want her for himself. His family is so outraged at his behavior when he tries to force himself on her, that he is almost disinherited. Meanwhile the German forces come back to the patriarch's home to look for the Jewish woman, the father fights back, killing a soldier and then he, in turn, is killed. Mustafa and some German officers show up in the morning, and at the cemetery (Muslim custom is to inter the dead as soon as possible), Mustafa sees that his father has already been buried. This is the shock that creates his first realization of what the Nazi presence means, and all of a sudden, his actions take an unexpected and permanent new direction. This film was awarded "Best Screenplay" at the 1982 Pula Film Festival. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Young teen partisans during World War II are small enough to get past obstacles in order to toss grenades into armed locations such as bunkers and houses. In this film, the youngsters are brave on and off the battlefield, and one of them has a brief romance before dying for his country. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi