''Variola Vera'' ( Cyrillic: Вариола вера) is a 1982 Yugoslav film directed by

Goran Marković Goran Marković ( sr-cyr, Горан Марковић, ) (born 24 August 1946) is a Serbian film and theatre director, screenwriter, writer, and playwright. He has directed approximately 50 documentaries, 13 feature films, and 3 theatre plays. ...

. The subject of the film is based on the

1972 Yugoslav smallpox outbreak The 1972 Yugoslav smallpox outbreak was the largest outbreak of smallpox in Europe after the Second World War. It was centered in SAP Kosovo and Belgrade, a province of and the capital city respectively of Yugoslavia. A Kosovar Albanian Muslim ...

. It is a satire of the corruption of the medical and public health field. Although inspired by the real events, the movie features elements of horror. The title refers to the '' Variola vera'' virus which causes smallpox. The film garnered Marković the first prize for best director and the best screenplay at the 1982 Valencia film festival. A poll of 30 Yugoslav critics and journalists conducted in the newspaper ''

Oslobođenje ''Oslobođenje'' (; 'Liberation') is a daily newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina based in the capital city Sarajevo. Founded on 30 August 1943, in the midst of World War II, on a patch of territory liberated by Partisans, in what was otherwise a ...

'' named it the Yugoslav Film of the Year for 1982.

Plot

The plot of the film follows the events during the smallpox epidemic in the territory of the then SFR Yugoslavia in 1972. The course of the epidemic is monitored, as well as its impact on the psyche and behavior of people who are exposed to the dangers it carries. A Muslim pilgrim returns to the country from

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

infected with an unknown disease. Moved from place to place, he dies, and the infection spreads. By the time those in charge realize that it is a disease that was thought to be eradicated, it is already too late -

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

starts to run rampant. The infected are isolated and left to the logic of a terrible disease that everyone has already forgotten about, considering it a distant past. The film follows the behavior of almost all layers of society in which the epidemic occurred: patients in the hospital, medical staff, ordinary citizens, even politicians, officials of the government at the time. It shows how such a deadly threat helps people show their true colors.

Cast

Rade Šerbedžija Rade Šerbedžija ( sr-Cyrl, Раде Шербеџија, ; born 27 July 1946) is a Croatian actor, director and musician. He is known for his portrayals of imposing figures on both sides of the law. He was one of the best known Yugoslav actors i ...

- Dr. Grujić *

Erland Josephson Erland Josephson (; 15 June 1923 – 25 February 2012) was a Swedish actor and author. He was best known by international audiences for his work in films directed by Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky and Theodoros Angelopoulos. Life and career ...

- Dr. Dragutin Majcan Kenigsmark (Dubbed by

Petar Kralj Petar Kralj ( sr-cyr, Петар Краљ; 4 April 1941 – 10 November 2011) was a Serbian theater, film and television actor. Biography Kralj was born in Zagreb to a Serb family from Banija. During World War II his family fled to Syrmia, ...

) *

Dušica Žegarac Dušica Žegarac ( sr-cyr, Душица Жегарац; 15 April 1944 – 24 May 2019http://rs.n1info.com/Vesti/a486323/Preminula-glumica-Dusica-Zegarac.html cf. N1info news) was a Serbian film and television actress. She began acting in 1960 and ...

- Dr. Marković * Varja Đukić - Dr. Danka Uskoković * Rade Marković - Superintendent Čole * Vladislava Milosavljević - Nurse Slavica *

Peter Carsten Peter Carsten (30 April 1928 – 20 April 2012) was a German actor and film producer. He appeared in 90 films between 1953 and 1999, including in supporting roles, ''Dark of the Sun'' (1968), ''Hannibal Brooks'' (1969), ''Madame Bovary'' (1 ...

- UN Epidemiologist (Dubbed by Mihajlo Viktorović) *

Aleksandar Berček Aleksandar Berček ( sr-cyr, Александар Берчек; born 4 September 1950) is a Serbian actor. He performed in more than one hundred films since 1971. He graduated at the Academy for theater, film, radio and television. He was the dir ...

- Magistar Jovanović * Radmila Živković - Nurse Zaga * Semka Sokolović-Bertok - Dr. Ćirić *

Bogdan Diklić Bogdan Diklić ( sr-Cyrl, Богдан Диклић; born 1 August 1953) is a Serbian actor. He has been active since the late 1970s and starred in over one hundred Yugoslav films and television series. Diklić made ten films with director Gora ...

- Duško

References

External links

Variola Vera Trailer
* * * * 1982 films Yugoslav drama films 1980s Serbian-language films Serbian drama films Serbian horror films Horror drama films Films set in Belgrade Films set in Yugoslavia Films about viral outbreaks Smallpox in fiction Smallpox eradication Films based on actual events Films directed by Goran Marković Films set in 1972 Yugoslav horror films {{Yugoslavia-film-stub