Dom za vesanje (1988)

Director:

Emir Kusturica

Writers:

Emir Kusturica (writer)
Gordan Mihic (writer)

Release Date:

9 February 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

"When God came down to earth he could not deal with the gypsies . . . and he took the next flight back"

Plot:

In this luminous tale set in the area around Sarajevo and in Italy, Perhan, an engaging young Romany (gypsy) with telekinetic powers, is seduced by the quick-cash world of petty crime, which threatens to destroy him and those he loves.

Plot Keywords:

Gypsy | Yugoslavia | Reality | Organized Crime | Dream

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Davor Dujmovic	...	Perhan
Bora Todorovic	...	Ahmed
Ljubica Adzovic	...	Khaditza (Grandmother)
Husnija Hasimovic	...	Merdzan (Uncle)
Sinolicka Trpkova	...	Azra (girlfriend)
Zabit Memedov	...	Zabit (neighbor)
Elvira Sali	...	Danira (sister)
Suada Karisik	...	Dzamila
Predrag Lakovic
Mirsad Zulic
Ajnur Redzepi	...	Perhan's son
Sedrije Halim	...	Ruza, Azra's mother
Saban Rojan
Branko Djuric
Edin Rizvanovic

Also Known As:

Il tempo dei gitani (Italy)
Time of the Gypsies (International: English title)

Runtime:

Yugoslavia:270 min (extended version) | France:136 min (DVD version)

Country:

UK | Italy | Yugoslavia

Language:

Romany | Serbo-Croatian | Italian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 (2007) (DVD) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Forum Sarajevo

Movie Connections:

References Skupljaci perja (1967)

One of my favourites

This is one of my most favourite movies. I don't know if I can say it was the best movie I ever saw. It's amazing to see how talented these amateur actors are and how beautiful the mis en scene is. I always thought about Time of the Gypsies as a kind of answer to the Latin American Magic Realism. Kusturica seems to know which subject requires which specific aesthetic style.

The Gypsies in Yugoslavia live in their traditional world as they live in the bizarre modernity of European reality. The clash of these two worlds is what so many so called European auteur directors thematized since the 1960's. Kusturica seems to be very conscious of these art cinema tradition, but he knows also which people he portraits. The East European Gypsies are in a very essential way still nomads, constantly shifting between different realities:the world of dreams, their own traditions, their myths, rituals and beliefs and the hybrid spaces of European criminality. Kusturica portrays these Gypsy worlds with a story that is both modern but also almost like a fairy tale. It is this very mixture that makes this movie brilliant and a must see.