''Balkan Spy'' ( sr, Балкански шпијун / Balkanski špijun) is a 1984 Yugoslav comedy drama film directed by Serbian directors Dušan Kovačević and Božidar Nikolić.

Plot

Ilija Čvorović (

Bata Stojković Bata, Baťa, Baţa, Batá or BATA may refer to: Organizations * Bata Corporation, a multinational corporation * Bata Shoe Museum, a museum of the history of footwear in Toronto * Bay Area Toll Authority, the bridge toll administrator of the San ...

), 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), a businessman, who spent twenty years living in Paris, 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, and begins spying on Petar. Ilija's wife Danica ( Mira Banjac) is more concerned with the future of their daughter Sonja ( Sonja Savić), 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 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 f ...

), 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. Đuro manages to capture several of Petar's friends, holding them in his basement, beating them up and making them "reveal their terrorist 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. Petar manages to get to the phone and call the ambulance, 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

as Ilija Čvorović * Bora Todorović as Petar Markov Jakovljević * Mira Banjac as Danica Čvorović * Sonja Savić 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 as the professor *

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 as the doctor *

as inspector Dražić * Milan Mihailović 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 Mili ...

Awards

''Balkanski špijun'' won two awards in 1984 at the Pula Film Festival, the Golden Arena Award and the Best Actor Award, which went to Danilo "Bata" Stojković for his portrayal of Ilija Čvorović.imdb.com awards
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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