The Promising Boy (1981)
"Decko koji obecava" (original title)

Slobodan Milosevic is young promising guy. He is a solid student, obedient son and considerate boyfriend. But after his affair with one Swiss girl, all of that changes. When he told his ... See full summary »

Director:

Milos 'Misa' Radivojevic

Writers:

Nebojsa Pajkic, Milos 'Misa' Radivojevic,

Stars:

Aleksandar Bercek, Dara Dzokic, Rade Markovic

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aleksandar Bercek	...	Slobodan Milosevic
Dara Dzokic	...	Masinka - Masa
Rade Markovic	...	Slobodanov otac
Dusica Zegarac	...	Slobodanova majka
Milena Zupancic	...	Masina majka
Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic	...	Masin otac
Gordana Gadzic	...	Ljubica, dobra pica
Branislav Lecic	...	Karatista
Slobodan Aligrudic	...	Psihijatar
Ivana Pejcic
Tihomir Arsic	...	Inspektor
Eva Darlan	...	Svajcarkinja
Dusan Kojic	...	Pit
Pavle Bogatincevic	...	Profesor (as Paja Bogatincevic)
Milo Miranovic	...	Dezurni student (as Milorad Miranovic)

Storyline

Slobodan Milosevic is young promising guy. He is a solid student, obedient son and considerate boyfriend. But after his affair with one Swiss girl, all of that changes. When he told his girlfriend Masa about that affair she hits him in the head and he changes completely. He quarrels with his parents, runs away from home, has sex with different girls, even with Masa's mother, masturbates while driving the car, finds a way to express himself by playing rock'n'roll music and does similar anarchic stuffs. Masa thinks that another hit in the head would put the things back where they were, and when that happens and Slobodan starts acting normal again they plan a wedding. But in the middle of the wedding Slobodan hears that his friend from a band Pit had died and he, not knowing what else to do, goes bumping his head against the wall.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | change of personality | attempted murder | freeman | karate | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Yugoslavia

Language:

Serbian English French

Also Known As:

The Promising Boy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avala Film, Decko Koji Obecava Film Production, Film Forty-First - Avala Film Working Organization

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The main character shares the name of the former leader of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, who died in 2006. He was 40 years old when this film was released and was president of a major bank. He did not rise to prominence until first elected for a regional office in 1984 (3 years after the release of this film).

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Soundtracks

"Niko, niko kao ja"
Performed by Sarlo Akrobata

User Reviews

Whoa

Some films you like, some films you don't like, but rarely you find the film you have been looking for.

For years (decades now) People have been saying that Belgrade was a really hip and sophisticated place before all the -prohibited word- started in the 90s. These were credible witnesses, and I wanted to believe them, but there wasn't really any example for me to look at. This film is a strong piece of the "missing link." The idea is that Belgrade (and Yugoslavia more broadly) was a pretty culturally advanced, freewheeling place in the 70s and 80s, pretty middle-class and urbane. Well you have to see it to believe it.

I very much appreciated how with some good camera angles you can make Belgrade look really urban, like a true "full sized" city (which it is not) the size of Budapest or even Paris. It looks urban, it feels urban.

In another sense, this is the eastern Europe that hipsters want there to have been in the 80s. It scarcely was, but artifacts don't lie.

The music in this film is extraordinary and unexpected, I'll just leave it at that. Moreover, you can squint and believe that there was a Serbian New Wave of cinema.

This is not a fantastic piece of cinema, but it takes you to another world as well as any film ever has, which in itself makes it an accidental treasure.