Cinema
When Father Was Away on Business
Отац на службеном путу
Emir Kusturica · 1985
Synopsis
Sarajevo, June 1950, in the time of the Cominform. Meša, fickle but attached to his family, is denounced for a joke about a Politika cartoon by a jilted mistress, and his own brother-in-law sends him to a labour camp. To protect the children, his wife Sena tells them that Daddy is away on business. The eldest spends his days at the cinema, and the younger one, Malik, who tells the story, takes refuge in sleepwalking.
Context
The film, subtitled a historical love film, was produced in Sarajevo by Centar Film, Forum and Sarajevo Television, and was released in Yugoslavia in January 1985. At Pula, it won five Golden Arenas, including those for best film, direction, screenplay and the two leading performers, Miki Manojlović and Mirjana Karanović. It was released in France in October 1985 and was re-released there in 2024.
Who it is for
Two hours sixteen in Serbo-Croatian with subtitles. It is best to know that after 1948 Yugoslavia sent thousands of people suspected of loyalty to Moscow to labour camps that were not spoken of.
Prizes and reception
Palme d'Or and the International Critics' Prize (FIPRESCI) at Cannes in 1985, nominated for the Oscar for best foreign-language film, and counted in 2016 among the hundred Serbian films classified as cultural property.