Bora Todorovic Movies

This gritty, complex period piece unfurls circa 1914, against the explosive backdrop of the early-World War I Balkans. In a Serbian village on the banks of the Sava River (which constitutes the border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), the local population falls into two factions with radically different ideologies: the veterans from prior Balkan conflicts, many of whom are invalids given their war casualties, and the new military recruits - young, strapping and full of vigor. When the Great War formally erupts following the Archduke's assassination, the new recruits of the village march off to the front lines, leaving the invalids behind; many of those who remain willfully and irresponsibly take sexual advantage of the soldiers' wives and sisters. News of this reaches the Serbian High Command shortly before the battles commence; in response, he summons the invalids and places them at the front lines, in an attempt to effectively deal with the guilty parties. Meanwhile, an unexpected romance blossoms between an area policeman, his wife, and a Balkan war invalid. ~ Nathan Southern, 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

In this black satire flashing back to the 1950s Yugoslavia under Tito, when relations with the Soviet Union were broken off, a pro-Stalinist Iliya (Danilo Bata Stojkovic) and his brother have never wavered in their political support of the Soviet dictator and his policies. They both served prison terms back in the 1950s for their beliefs. Now nearly three decades have passed, and a new neighbor who has spent a long time in Paris comes under police suspicion because of his long years outside the country. It turns out, however, that the man is innocent of any wrong-doing but Iliya is convinced he is a spy for the forces of imperialism, and, armed with a tape-recorder and camera, he carries out a surreptitious, evidence-gathering surveillance. At the same time, Iliya is whipping up his neighbors into a real frenzy of anti-imperialist furor directed against the hapless neighbor. Before Iliya can be stopped, even his wife joins him, but his daughter is hardly a convert -- embarrassed would be a better word. Humor and pathos rise along with the paranoia, as Iliya and his delusions rule the day. This film won the Golden Arena award at the 1984 Pula Film Festival, and Danilo Bata Stojkovic was awarded "Best Actor" for his role as Iliya, at the same festival. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this entertaining, clever satire, it is the beginning of World War II and a group of con artists and thieves decide to pose as musicians under the rubric "The Balkan Express." They tour the country and vie with each other for how much they can pilfer, scam, con, or lift from the unsuspecting citizenry. Their talents are put to the test when a German officer falls for the singer in the group, and they decide to use him to obtain important ID papers for everyone. But life is never easy, and when a 10-year-old Jewish girl needs help in hiding from the SS in order to escape being sent to a concentration camp, the group of thieves not only decide to protect the girl, but join forces with the underground resistance fighters to get rid of several German officers at the same time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Sometimes handling the dead can be almost as difficult as handling the living, according to the Topalovic family and its many members -- from great-grandparents on down. They are losing ground in the fight to keep their cemetery business from going under and have had to make a clandestine alliance with n'er-do-well entrepreneurs that will supply them with recycled coffins at a cheap price -- an alliance that has kept the family in heavy debt to the grave-digging crooks. Meanwhile, young Mirko Topalovic has fallen in love with the daughter of one of the increasingly wealthy partners in the used coffin business. She works for a movie theater as a pianist (it is the era when silents are on the way out) and the owner of the theater has not yet fired her and switched to talkies because he wants her for himself. He suggests that they make a movie together -- an erotic movie he thinks to himself -- but seduction is his only goal. When Mirko starts to help out in this movie project, he comes to realize what is actually going on and overpowered by rage, he kills the woman and the theater owner. Puffed up with his aggressive deed, he goes home to convince the Topalovic family that they have to take up arms against the usurious grave-diggers -- and a wild and bloody melée ensues that will determine the fate of the family. Jelisaveta Sablic won the "Best Actress" award at the 1982 Pula Film Festival for her role as the sought-after female lead in this film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Marilyn Jordan (Susan Anspach), an American-born housewife, mother, and socialite living in Sweden, is crumbling under the weight of her own existence. She deeply resents her husband Martin's (Erland Josephson) frequent holiday absences and his indifferent attitude toward their two children ("If they are going to grow up in today's world," he admits, "it's about time they faced the fact that nobody keeps promises anymore"). Moreover, Marilyn's eccentric father (who believes he is Buffalo Bill and fires off guns in the house to prove it) and her children -- who hatch an outrageous plan to set up a dating service for senior citizens -- start to drive her completely around the bend. Marilyn feels herself domestically imprisoned -- encased in a bell jar. Her subsequent behavior grows not simply eccentric, but irrational and then comically outrageous. She cooks wiener schnitzel for the entire family, but eats it all herself; unsuccessfully attempts to poison the family beagle; and -- convinced that insects are attacking her during the night -- showers the plant above her bed with bug repellent, much to Martin's consternation. Finally, irritated by Martin's sexual indifference to her, Marilyn manages to get his attention in a last, desperate move by setting his bed on fire late one night. Deeply concerned, Martin consults psychologist Dr. Pazardjian (Per Oscarsson), who does little to help Marilyn and (indeed) turns out to be even nuttier than any of the members of the Jordan family. Via a comic security mix-up, Marilyn later becomes stranded at the Stockholm airport and hitches a ride with a band of horny Yugoslavian immigrants celebrating the new year; they take her to their ZanziBar nightclub for a couple of days, where she begins to break out of her domestic prison by engaging in a torrid extramarital affair with randy Slavic zookeeper Montenegro and by performing as a one-time chaunteuse on-stage. Eventually, Marilyn's family beckons for her to return -- but her brush with independence has made her a very different woman, indeed. Montenegro marked controversial writer/director Dusan Makavejev's English-language debut, and earned widespread critical raves for Anspach's career-defining performance. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide