The Marathon Family (1982)
"Maratonci trce pocasni krug" (original title)

The Topalovic family has been in the burial business for generations. When the old (150 yrs old) Pantelija dies, five generations of his heirs start to fight for the inheritance.

Director:

Slobodan Sijan

Writers:

Dusan Kovacevic (play), Dusan Kovacevic (screenplay)

Stars:

Bogdan Diklic, Danilo 'Bata' Stojkovic, Pavle Vujisic

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bogdan Diklic	...	Mirko Topalovic
Danilo 'Bata' Stojkovic	...	Laki Topalovic
Pavle Vujisic	...	Milutin Topalovic
Mija Aleksic	...	Aksentije Topalovic
Milivoje Tomic	...	Maksimilijan Topalovic
Radislav Lazarevic	...	Pantelija Topalovic
Zoran Radmilovic	...	Bili Piton
Jelisaveta Sablic	...	Kristina
Bora Todorovic	...	Djenka
Melita Bihali	...	Olja
Fahro Konjhodzic	...	Gospodin Rajkovic
Veljko Mandic	...	Rajkovicev brat
Mihajlo-Bata Paskaljevic	...	Stariji zandar
Dragoljub-Gula Milosavljevic	...	(as Dragoljub Milosavljevic)
Miroslav Jovanovic	...	Blizanac I

Storyline

The Topalovic family has been in the burial business for generations. When the old (150 yrs old) Pantelija dies, five generations of his heirs start to fight for the inheritance.

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Plot Keywords:

coffin | crematorium | cinema | murder | satire | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Yugoslavia

Language:

Serbo-Croatian

Release Date:

1982 (Yugoslavia)

Also Known As:

The Marathon Family

Company Credits

Production Co:

Centar Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a scene when Laki describes the crematoria as "the future", Djenka confirms it, by claiming that he saw it on his previous trip to Germany. This is an obvious allusion on first Nazi concentrational camps, as well as on the centuries-long Serbian characteristic to look after the new tendencies in Germany.

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Goofs

In a scene which is showing Hedy Lamarr in Ecstasy, Djenka speaks of Hedy's wealth and success in Hollywood, yet the movie is set in 1935 and Hedy didn't move to USA until 1937 and was unable to reach the level of stardom he was talking about.

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Connections

Spoofed in Crni bombarder (1992)

User Reviews

the best movie in the world...ever!!!

Maratonci trce pocasni krug was the first play that 23-year old drama student Dusan Kovacevic wrote. The plot is based on the story about the youngest member of the Topalovic family, which is in the coffin-making business for more than a century. But the youngest member doesn't want to live this kind of life-he wants to marry the mafia boss' daughter and to live the life of an artist, since he is impressed with the movies (this all happens back in the year 1935). But, the mafia boss tries to use him to destroy the opponents - the Topalovic's themselves. This is the shortest possible plot of the best movie ever made. I have seen this movie for over 20 (yes, twenty!!!) times and I think there is not a single person in Serbia that didn't see it. This is the best (and the hardest one to make) kind of movie - it's a comedy without a single moment of triviality. If you were not a habitant of the former Yugoslavia, the names of the actors probably mean nothing to you. But these actors are incredible! They are absolutely hilarious and are the reason for outstanding popularity of the movie. Almost every phrase used in the movie became a part of the usual conversation of the people here in Serbia. I know you probably aren't convinced and still think that The Godfather or Gone With The Wind are the best movies you will see in your lifetime. And I would probably have to agree if there wasn't for that one little movie made 20 years ago in Serbia.