When Father Was Away on Business (1985)
"Otac na sluzbenom putu" (original title)

Tito's break-up with Stalin in 1948 marked the beginning of not only confusing, but also very dangerous years for many hard-core Yugoslav communists. A careless remark about the newspaper ... See full summary »

Director:

Emir Kusturica

Writer:

Abdulah Sidran

Stars:

Moreno D'E Bartolli, Predrag Manojlovic, Mirjana Karanovic

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Moreno D'E Bartolli	...	Malik
Predrag Manojlovic	...	Mehmed Mesa Zolj (as Miki Manojlovic)
Mirjana Karanovic	...	Senija Sena Zolj
Mustafa Nadarevic	...	Zijah Zijo Zulfikarpasic
Mira Furlan	...	Ankica Vidmar
Predrag Lakovic	...	Kucepazitelj Franjo
Pavle Vujisic	...	Dedo Muzamer
Slobodan Aligrudic	...	Ostoja Cekic
Eva Ras	...	Ilonka Petrovic
Aco Djorcev	...	Dr. Ljahaov (as Aleksandar Dorcev)
Emir Hadzihafizbegovic	...	Mladji ujak
Zoran Radmilovic	...	Pilot
Jelena Covic	...	Natasa
Tomislav Gelic	...	Berberin Hamdo
Davor Dujmovic	...	Brat Mirza

Storyline

Tito's break-up with Stalin in 1948 marked the beginning of not only confusing, but also very dangerous years for many hard-core Yugoslav communists. A careless remark about the newspaper cartoon is enough for Mesha to join many arrested unfortunates. His family is now forced to cope with the situation and wait for his release from prison. The story is told from the perspective of Malik, his young son who believes the mother's story about father being "away on business".

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Plot Keywords:

anti communist | child nudity | political prisoner | sarajevo yugoslavia | infant nudity | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Films sans Frontières [fr]

Country:

Yugoslavia

Language:

Serbian Hungarian

Release Date:

11 October 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

When Father Was Away on Business

Filming Locations:

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Company Credits

Production Co:

Centar Film, Forum Sarajevo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Maradona by Kusturica (2008)

User Reviews

1950s Yugoslavia as seen by a child

There have been several movies about the adult world as seen by children. "Daniel" and "Matinee" are good examples from the United States. A good one from the former Yugoslavia is Emir Kusturica's "Otac na sluzbenom putu" ("When Father Was Away on Business" in English).

When Sarajevo man Mesa is arrested in 1950 for criticizing a cartoon, his wife Sena has to tell son Malik that the dad is on a business trip. As the movie progresses, Malik comes to understand the political status quo in this country straddling east and west.* Moreover, it becomes clear that Mesa is not the world's most responsible person, preferring to go screw attractive women to raising his son.

One thing is that I like seeing films about cultures that we rarely see. Beyond that, this look at political tensions - and how the boy has to learn about sex on his own - fascinates me. I definitely recommend the movie.

PS: Emir Kusturica also directed "Arizona Dream" (starring Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis and Faye Dunaway) in the United States) and "Black Cat, White Cat" back in his native country.

*Tito's disagreements with Stalin led to Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Eastern Bloc, so it aligned itself with the west but maintained an Eastern Bloc-style government.