''Balkan Spy'' ( sr, Балкански шпијун / Balkanski špijun) is a 1984 Yugoslav

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n directors

Dušan Kovačević Dušan Kovačević ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Ковачевић, ; born 12 July 1948) is a Serbian playwright, scriptwriter, film director and academic best known for his theatre plays and movie scripts. He also served as the ambassador of Serbia in L ...

and Božidar Nikolić.

Plot

Ilija Čvorović ( Bata Stojković), a former

Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

who spent several years in a prison on Goli otok, is contacted by the police to routinely answer questions about his sub-tenant, Petar Markov Jakovljević (

Bora Todorović Borivoje "Bora" Todorović ( sr-Cyrl, Боривоје "Бора" Тодоровић; 5 November 1929 – 7 July 2014) was a Serbian actor. He was the younger brother of the actress, Mira Stupica, and father of Srđan Todorović. Biography He ...

), a businessman, who spent twenty years living in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and now has returned to

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

to open a tailor shop. After only several minutes, Ilija is free to go, however, he starts to suspect that his sub-tenant, Petar, might be a

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

. As time passes, Ilija becomes convinced that Petar, a modern man from a capitalist country, represents a great threat to national security and the

socialist system A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term ''communist state'' is ofte ...

, and begins spying on Petar. Ilija's wife Danica (

Mira Banjac Mira Banjac ( sr-Cyrl, Мира Бањац; born 4 November 1929) is a Serbian actress. She won a number of awards, including an award for her work in Mamaroš from Brasil and Golden Medal for Merits of Republic of Serbia. Selected filmography ...

) is more concerned with the future of their daughter Sonja (

Sonja Savić Sonja Savić ( sr-Cyrl, Соња Савић; 15 September 1961 – 23 September 2008) was a Serbian actress, famous for her husky voice and series of impressive roles in some of the more memorable 1980s Yugoslav films. Sonja appeared in Miroslav ...

), who, although holding a degree in

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...

, is unable to find a job. After a bout of spying, Ilija phones inspector Dražić (

Milan Štrljić Milan Štrljić (born 22 March 1952) is a Croatian actor and theatre director. He appeared in more than ninety films since 1972. Personal life Štrljić has a daughter Iva, who is also an actress, with his Serbian former wife Slavica. Selected ...

), claiming that Petar was meeting with "suspicious people" (actually Petar's

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

friends), but Dražić does not take him seriously. Ilija decides to take matters into his own hands. He begins his own surveillance operation against the innocent man and his friends. Eventually, he bars his house, buys a guard dog, arms himself with

munition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...

, and even gets help from his brother Đura (

Zvonko Lepetić Zvonimir "Zvonko" Lepetić (17 November 1928 – 4 January 1991) was one of the leading character actors of Croatian and Yugoslav cinema and television. Lepetić was born in Berane, Montenegro. Since 1939, he lived in Sarajevo, where he graduated ...

), both of them becoming convinced that Petar is a foreign agent. One evening, Ilija is accidentally hit by a car, which he sees as an attempt of

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

. Soon, even Danica starts to believe Ilija, but Sonja believes that her father is suffering from

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...

. Đuro manages to capture several of Petar's friends, holding them in his basement, beating them up and making them "reveal their

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

plans". Petar comes to Ilija's house, where he finds Danica. Petar says that he wanted to say goodbye, as he is traveling to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and asks Danica why Ilija and his brother are following him, thus revealing that he was aware of their "surveillance operation". Ilija and Đura crash into the house, sending Danica away, tying Petar to a chair, beating him and forcing him to "confess". Petar keeps claiming that he is not a spy, but the brothers do not believe him. Đura leaves the house for a while, to bring one of Petar's friends who "admitted everything", and Ilija continues to interrogate Petar. However, Ilija gets too excited and has a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. Petar manages to get to the phone and call the

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

, and then, still handcuffed to the chair, he leaves the house to try to catch his plane. Ilija, while in severe pain, phones Đura's house and tells his wife to tell him to "block the airport". He then crawls out of the house, and starts crawling after Petar, with his dog following him.

Cast

* Bata Stojković as Ilija Čvorović *

as Petar Markov Jakovljević *

as Danica Čvorović *

as Sonja Čvorović *

as Đura Čvorović *

Bata Živojinović Velimir "Bata" Živojinović ( sr-Cyrl, Велимир "Бата" Живојиновић; 5 June 1933 – 22 May 2016) was a Yugoslav and Serbian actor and politician. He appeared in more than 340 films and TV series, and is regarded as one of ...

as the pancake seller *

Predrag Laković Predrag Laković ( sr-Cyrl, Предраг Лаковић; 28 March 1929 – 9 September 1997) was a Serbian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1953 to 1997.Branka Petrić Branka Petrić (; born 17 April 1937) is a Serbian actress. She appeared in more than seventy films since 1960. She was married to Kosovo-Albanian actor Bekim Fehmiu Bekim Fehmiu (; ; 1 June 1936 – 15 June 2010) was a Yugoslavian theat ...

as the journalist *

Milivoje Tomić Milivoje "Mića" Tomić (10 February 1920 – 23 August 2000) was a Serbian actor. Tomić won numerous awards during his career, including the " Pavle Vuisic" Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Selected filmography References External lin ...

as the doctor *

as inspector Dražić *

Milan Mihailović Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

as the painter *

Vladan Živković Vladan Živković (15 December 1941 – 3 January 2022) was a Serbian actor, perhaps best known outside Yugoslavia for his work in Sam Peckinpah's '' Cross of Iron''. Vladan Živković was born on 15 December 1941 in Belgrade, Territory of the Mi ...

Awards

''Balkanski špijun'' won two awards in 1984 at the

Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival ( hr, Pulski filmski festival) is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held in ...

, the Golden Arena Award and the Best Actor Award, which went to Danilo "Bata" Stojković for his portrayal of Ilija Čvorović.imdb.com awards
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{Big Golden Arena 1984 films 1980s Serbian-language films Films set in Belgrade Films set in Serbia Films set in Yugoslavia Serbian comedy-drama films Serbian black comedy films Yugoslav black comedy films 1980s black comedy films 1984 comedy-drama films Yugoslav films based on plays Films based on works by Dušan Kovačević Films with screenplays by Dušan Kovačević 1980s spy comedy-drama films Yugoslav comedy-drama films Films shot in Belgrade

Plot

Cast

Awards

See also

References

External links