Pretty Village, Pretty Flame (1996)

During the war in Bosnia, two childhood friends eventually become enemies, as the tragic and devastating circumstances of the war put them on the opposite sides and expose the most gruesome and cruel aspects of the human nature.

Director:

Srdjan Dragojevic

Writers:

Vanja Bulic (story), Srdjan Dragojevic (dialogue)

Stars:

Dragan Bjelogrlic, Nikola Kojo, Dragan Maksimovic

6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dragan Bjelogrlic	...	Milan
Nikola Kojo	...	Velja
Dragan Maksimovic	...	Petar
Zoran Cvijanovic	...	Brzi
Milorad Mandic-Manda	...	Viljuska (as Milorad Mandic)
Dragan Petrovic-Pele	...	Laza (as Dragan Petrovic)
Lisa Moncure	...	Liza
Nikola Pejakovic	...	Halil
Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic	...	Gvozden
Petar Bozovic	...	Sloba
Marko Kovijanic	...	Marko
Dragan Zaric	...	Nazim
Admir Sehovic	...	Mali Milan
Milos Djuricic	...	Mali Halil
Vera Dedovic	...	Uciteljica

Storyline

At the Belgrade army hospital, casualties of Bosnian civil war are treated. In the hospital they remember their youth and the war. Two young boys, Halil, a Muslim, and Milan, a Serb, have grown up together near a deserted tunnel linking the Yugoslav cities of Belgrade and Zagreb. They never dare go inside, as they believe an ogre resides there. Twelve years later, during the Bosnian civil war, Milan, who is trapped in the tunnel with his troop, and Halil, find themselves on opposing sides, fatefully heading toward confrontation.

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Plot Keywords:

ogre | reference to bosnia and herzegovina | reference to yugoslavia | reference to bosnia | bosnian war | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

For the 100 days of the shoot, the only food for the crew was frozen hamburgers prepared in a microwave.

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Quotes

Velja: Pretty villages are pretty when they burn. Ugly ones stay ugly, even when they burn.

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Connections

Referenced in The Movie Show: Episode dated 29 June 1997 (1997)

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Soundtracks

Bacila je sve niz rijeku
Performed by Indexi

User Reviews

By far, the best movie to come out of the Balkan wars

I've seen it again today. I've seen it ten years ago when it first came out. On a 17x copied VHS bootleg tape, and now on DVD. Without going into details, I can only say this is one of the movies that I've seen many times and each time I see it it strikes me as the best of the best. It's multi layered and highly symbolic at times, due to that, the only ones to understand it fully are people that have a good understanding of the Balkan wars and/or the mentality of the characters. Some see it as pro-Serbian propaganda, other see it as anti-Serbian. And that alone makes it worth watching for me. Anyways, it's a chilling and wonderful masterpiece. Sad, bleak, darkly humorous at times but very very VERY good.

Details

Country:

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Language:

Bosnian Serbian English

Release Date:

6 November 1997 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Pretty Village, Pretty Flame

Filming Locations:

Prijepolje, Serbia

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$141, 19 January 1998

Gross USA:

$211

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$211

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cobra Film Department, Ministarstvo Kulture Republike Srbije, Radio Televizija Srbije (RTS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1