When Father Was Away on Business
Encyclopedia
When Father Was Away on Business (Serbo-Croat: Otac na službenom putu, Отац на службеном путу) is a 1985 Yugoslav
film by Serbia
n director
Emir Kusturica
. The screenplay was written by the Bosnian
dramatist Abdulah Sidran
. Its subtitle is A Historical Love Film.
Yugoslavia
during the Informbiro period
, the film tells the story through the eyes of a young boy Malik. His father Meša (played by Miki Manojlović
) has been suspected of working for Cominform
and sent to a labour camp after a careless remark about a political newspaper cartoon.
The movie opens in June 1950 with a local's serenading field workers. He sings Mexican
songs because it's "safer", and children climb trees and play around. The story is from the perspective
of the boy, Malik, whose mother Sena tells him that his father is on a business trip. Malik is a chronic sleepwalker.
After a while, Meša's wife and children rejoin him in Zvornik
. Malik meets Maša, the daughter of a Russian doctor. He falls in love with her, but last sees her when the ambulance takes her away.
At the wedding of his maternal uncle Zijah, Malik witnesses his father's affair with a woman pilot. She later tries to commit suicide by using a toilet's flush cord. Sena reconciles with her brother Zijah, who's been diagnosed with diabetes.
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
film by Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
. The screenplay was written by the Bosnian
Bosnians
Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...
dramatist Abdulah Sidran
Abdulah Sidran
Abdulah Sidran , often referred to by his nickname Avdo, is a Bosnian writer and poet who is renowned for his screenplays and dramas.-Works:...
. Its subtitle is A Historical Love Film.
Plot
Set in post-World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
during the Informbiro period
Informbiro
Informbiro was a period in the history of Yugoslavia characterized by conflict and schism with the Soviet Union...
, the film tells the story through the eyes of a young boy Malik. His father Meša (played by Miki Manojlović
Miki Manojlovic
Predrag "Miki" Manojlović is a Serbian actor, famous for his starring roles in some of the most important films of former Yugoslav cinema. Since the early 1990s, he successfully branched out into movies made outside the Balkans, meaning that he's currently active in productions all over Europe...
) has been suspected of working for Cominform
Cominform
Founded in 1947, Cominform is the common name for what was officially referred to as the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties...
and sent to a labour camp after a careless remark about a political newspaper cartoon.
The movie opens in June 1950 with a local's serenading field workers. He sings Mexican
Culture of Mexico
Mexico has changed rapidly during the 20th century. In many ways, contemporary life in its cities has become similar to that in neighboring United States and Europe. Most Mexican villagers follow the older way of life more than the city people do. More than 45% of the people of Mexico live in...
songs because it's "safer", and children climb trees and play around. The story is from the perspective
Perspective (cognitive)
Perspective in theory of cognition is the choice of a context or a reference from which to sense, categorize, measure or codify experience, cohesively forming a coherent belief, typically for comparing with another...
of the boy, Malik, whose mother Sena tells him that his father is on a business trip. Malik is a chronic sleepwalker.
After a while, Meša's wife and children rejoin him in Zvornik
Zvornik
Zvornik is a city on the Drina river in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, located south of the town of Bijeljina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The town Mali Zvornik lies directly across the river in Serbia, and not far north is Loznica.-History:Zvornik is first mentioned in 1410, although it was...
. Malik meets Maša, the daughter of a Russian doctor. He falls in love with her, but last sees her when the ambulance takes her away.
At the wedding of his maternal uncle Zijah, Malik witnesses his father's affair with a woman pilot. She later tries to commit suicide by using a toilet's flush cord. Sena reconciles with her brother Zijah, who's been diagnosed with diabetes.
Cast
- Moreno De Bartolli as Malik Malkoč
- Miki ManojlovićMiki ManojlovicPredrag "Miki" Manojlović is a Serbian actor, famous for his starring roles in some of the most important films of former Yugoslav cinema. Since the early 1990s, he successfully branched out into movies made outside the Balkans, meaning that he's currently active in productions all over Europe...
as Mehmed "Meša" Malkoč - Mirjana KaranovićMirjana KaranovicMirjana Karanović is a Serbian actress known for many important roles in former Yugoslav films during the past quarter of a century....
as Senija "Sena" Malkoč (néeNEENEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Zulfikarpašić) - Mira FurlanMira FurlanMira Furlan is a Croatian actress and singer currently residing in the United States. She is well known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on all five seasons of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 , and Danielle Rousseau on Lost.-Early life:Furlan was born to an...
as Ankica Vidmar - Mustafa NadarevićMustafa NadarevicMustafa Nadarević is a Bosnian actor and comedian. He has studied at the Academy of Drama and Arts in Zagreb....
as Zijah "Zijo" Zulfikarpašić - Predrag Laković as Franjo
- Pavle VujisićPavle VujisicPavle Vuisić Pavle Vuisić Pavle Vuisić (Serbian Cyrillic: Павле Вуисић, also known by his nickname Paja; (10 July 1926 - 1 October 1988) was a Serbian actor, known as one of the most recognisable faces of former Yugoslav cinema....
as Muzafer Zulfikarpašić - Slobodan AligrudićSlobodan AligrudicSlobodan Aligrudić was a Serbian actor known for some of the most memorable roles in the history of former Yugoslav cinema.Aligrudić was born in Bitola....
as Ostoja Cekić - Aleksandar Dorčev as Dr. Evgeni Liakhov
- Silvija Puharić as Masha Liakhov
- Emir HadžihafizbegovićEmir HadžihafizbegovicEmir Hadžihafizbegović is a famous Bosnian actor.-Biography:Hadžihafizbegović got his diploma in acting at the Academy of Arts in Sarajevo in 1986. He received the Golden Arena for best actor at the Pula Film Festival and award for Best actor at the Durban International Film Festival...
as Fahro Zulfikarpašić - Davor DujmovićDavor DujmovicDavor Dujmović was a Yugoslav actor best known for his memorable roles in Emir Kusturica's movies as Mirza in When Father Was Away on Business, Perhan in Time of the Gypsies and Bata in Underground.-Career:Born into a poor working class family, Dujmović's acting...
as Mirza Malkoč - Eva RasEva RasEva Ras is a Serbian actress, writer, and painter.-Biography:She is of Hungarian-Jewish origin. Ras was born on January 1, 1941 in Subotica, where she lived and went to school until she was eighteen, when she started to study acting and dramaturgy in Belgrade where she now lives...
as Ilonka Petrović - Jelena Čović as Nataša Petrović
- Amer Kapetanović as Serjoža Petrović
- Zoran RadmilovićZoran RadmilovicZoran Radmilović was a Serbian actor, beloved for some of the most memorable roles in the history of former Yugoslav cinema....
as Brko Pilot - Tomislav Gelić as Hamdo Malkoč, barber
Awards
- 1985 Cannes Film Festival1985 Cannes Film Festival-Jury:*Miloš Forman *Claude Imbert *Edwin Zbonek *Francis Veber *Jorge Amado *Mauro Bolognini *Michel Perez *Mo Rothmann *Néstor Almendros *Sarah Miles...
: the Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
(Golden Palm) and the FIPRESCIFIPRESCIThe International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
Prize, - Nominated for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language FilmAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...