''The Border Post'' ( sh, Karaula) is a
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
produced in international cooperation between the countries of the former
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and directed by
Rajko Grlić
Rajko Grlić (born 2 September 1947) is a Croatian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of film theory at Ohio University and artistic director of the Motovun Film Festival in Motovun, Croatia.
Biography
Rajko Grlić w ...
. It was released in 2006.
Synopsis
A
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
military border post on the Yugoslav-Albanian border in the late 1980s is thrown into disarray when its commander Safet Pašić discovers he has
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
which he contracted from a local prostitute. To conceal his infidelity from his wife, he raises the combat readiness with a fabricated story about an imminent Albanian attack to buy time until he can complete the three-week course of
penicillin
Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...
.
Although the leave is cancelled for all personnel, Pašić secretly sends his doctor Siniša to transport his things from his home or to the barracks. There, Siniša meets Pašić's wife Mirjana who is tired of her husband's military career. After several meetings they start a passionate affair.
Meanwhile, soldiers in the barracks reinforce their positions and try to spend their time. One of the soldiers, Ljuba Paunović, pulls various pranks to be discharged from the army which causes frequent conflicts with Pašić. In honor of deceased President
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
, (inspired by television coverage of the
Relay of Youth
The Relay of Youth (Serbo-Croatian and Slovenian language, Slovenian: ''Štafeta mladosti'' (Serbian Cyrillic, Cyrillic: ''Штафета младости''), Macedonian language, Macedonian: ''Штафета на младоста'', Albanian lan ...
), Paunović volunteers to march hundreds of kilometers from the barracks to Tito's grave at the
House of Flowers in
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 ...
. He is then sent to the high command but once there, he says he never actually wanted to march, and that Lt. Pašić had forced him. The high command decides to punish Pašić and sends a group of soldiers to arrest him. On their way, Mirjana joins them to find out what is really happening with her husband.
The sentries at the border post see the approaching military vehicles which they mistake for the Albanian troops and open fire. The shots hit and mortally wound Mirjana, while Paunović and Pašić start begin a fight which leaves Pašić dead.
The film ends with Siniša returning home, visibly shaken.
Cast
*
Toni Gojanović - Siniša Sirisčević
*
Sergej Trifunović
Sergej Trifunović ( sr-cyr, Сергеј Трифуновић, ; born 2 September 1972) is a Serbian actor, comedian, singer, politician and citizen activist. - Ljuba Paunović
*
Emir Hadžihafizbegović - Lt. Safet Pašić
*
Verica Nedeska - Mirjana (Pašić's wife)
*
Bogdan Diklić - Col. Rade Orhideja
*
Miodrag Fišeković - Gvozdenović
*
Franjo Dijak
Franjo Dijak (born 2 June 1977) is a Croatian actor. He appeared in more than twenty films since 1997.
Dijak provides the voice of Po in the Croatian dub of the entire Kung Fu Panda franchise.
Selected filmography
References
External l ...
- Budiščak
*
Petar Arsovski - Ilievski
*
Tadej Troha Tadej is a masculine Slovenian given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Tadej Apatič (born 1987), Slovenian footballer
*Tadej Ferme (born 1991), Slovenian basketball player
*Tadej Golob (born 1967), Slovenian mountain climber and writer
...
- Lanisnik
*
Zoran Ljutkov
Zoran ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран) is a common South Slavic name, the masculine form of Zora, which means ''dawn, daybreak''. The name is especially common in Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and a little in Slovenia.
Notable people with this given na ...
- Milčo
*
Igor Benčina
Igor may refer to:
People
* Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name
* Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler
* Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling ...
- Vladika
*
Selim Sendžul
Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to:
People
* Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin
* Salim (poet) (1800–1866)
*Saleem (playwright) (fl. 1996)
*Selim I, Selim II and Selim III, Ottoman Sultans
*Selim people, an et ...
- Mica
*
Elmedin Leleta - Hasan
*
Hrvoje Kečkeš - Miljenko
*
Halid Bešlić
Halid Bešlić (; born 20 November 1953) is a Bosnian folk singer and musician who has been performing professionally since 1979. Bešlić's singing career was one of the most successful in Yugoslavia, and continues today throughout the entire ...
- Singer
Background and production
The screenplay, written by Rajko Grlić and Ante Tomić, is based on , Tomić's 2003 novel, with some minor changes. From the early 1980s, the plot was moved to 1987, the advanced stage of Serb-Albanian conflict and the beginning of
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
's era. Second lieutenant Pašić's character, originally an ethnic Hungarian, was changed to Bosniak in order to accommodate for
Emir Hadžihafizbegović.
The film was shot between May and July 2005, on locations in
Bitola
Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...
,
Ohrid, and
Galičica mountain.
[https://www.culturenet.hr/default.aspx?id=7061]
Awards
*Golden Arena, Pula International Film Festival-2006
*Golden Arena for Best Supporting Actor (
Emir Hadžihafizbegović), Pula International Film Festival-2006
*Golden Dolphin, Troia International Film Festival-2007
*Best Director, Troia International Film Festival-2007
*Audience Award, Trieste International Film Festival-2007
*Film and Literature Award, Films by the Sea Festival-2007
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Border Post, The
2006 films
Croatian-language films
Serbian comedy-drama films
2000s action comedy-drama films
Films directed by Rajko Grlić
Films set in Yugoslavia
Films set in 1987
Croatian comedy-drama films
Films based on Croatian novels
Films about military personnel
Films shot in North Macedonia
2006 comedy films
Cultural depictions of Josip Broz Tito
Cultural depictions of Slobodan Milošević
2006 drama films