''Balkan Spy'' (, sr-Cyrl, Балкански шпијун) is a 1984 Yugoslav

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic 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. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

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 ...

and

Božidar Nikolić Božidar "Bota" Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Божидар Бота Николић; 1 January 1942 – 13 May 2021) was a Serbian film director and screenwriter. He directed the films ''Balkan Spy'', ''The Dark Side of the Sun (film), The Dark Side of th ...

. It is based on a play of the same title. The film is primarily set in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. It centers on Ilija Čvorović, a paranoid retiree and former

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

, who served two years in prison because of his political beliefs. Because of his paranoia, he pursues his sub-tenant, a returnee from France, whom he sees as an agent of dark imperialist forces, an enemy of the state, and a spy.

Plot

Ilija Čvorović (

Bata Stojković Bata, Baťa, Baţa or Batá may refer to: Organizations * Bata Corporation, a multinational corporation * Bata Shoe Museum, a museum of the history of footwear in Toronto Places * Bata, Burgas Province, a village in the municipality of Pomor ...

), a former

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

Bora Todorović Borivoje "Bora" Todorović ( sr-Cyrl, Боривоје "Бора" Тодоровић; 5 November 1930 – 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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and has returned to

to open a tailor shop. After a couple minutes, Ilija is free to go but is visibly shaken by the encounter and begins to suspect that his sub-tenant, Petar, might be a spy. As time passes, Ilija becomes convinced that Petar, a progressive man from a capitalist country, represents a great threat to national security and the

socialist system A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. This article is about states that refer to themselves as socialist states, and not specifically abo ...

, and begins spying on him. 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 Brazil and Golden Medal for Merits of Republic of Serbia. Personal life B ...

) is more concerned about 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 most memorable Yugoslav films of 1980s and 1990s. She was born ...

), a recent graduate of dental school, 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 He is married to Daša Štrljić, and together they have one child, Fran. He was previously married to ...

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

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

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, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

, 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 ...

), who also becomes convinced that Petar is a foreign agent. One evening, Ilija is accidentally hit by a car, which he sees as an

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

attempt. 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, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

. 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 violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

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 (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, 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 Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. Petar manages to get to the phone and call the

ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport 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 ...

, 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 *

as Petar 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 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 theate ...

as 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 doctor *

as inspector Dražić *Milan Mihailović as painter *Ljiljana Cincar-Danilović as choirmaster *Mihajlo Ćirin as passerby *Bora Dujić as cousin *Slobodan Ivetić as salesman *

Ljiljana Jovanović Ljiljana Jovanović (16 February 1930 - 27 January 2012) was a Serbian actress. She appeared in more than sixty films from 1948 to 2012. Selected filmography References External links * 1930 births 2012 deaths Actors from Kruševa ...

as inspector's secretary *Đorđe Kovačević as man at inspector's place *Milorad Novaković as cousin *Ratko Novaković as cousin *Tomislav Pejčić as cousin *Danica Petković as saleswoman *Dragoljub Petrović as photographer *Ras Rastoder as porter 1 *Zoran Ratković as cross-eyed young man *

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 ...

as worker *

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 Gor ...

as man at the theater *Ljubo Škiljević as porter 2

Themes

Kovačević's work talks about the relationship between the individual and the government, individual and totalitarian consciousness, and the consequences of a system that demands absolute obedience, which are primarily manifested in the loss of reason and the disintegration of the family. Because of such contradictions, such a system is an idea that destroys itself, and sees its survival in the search for "invisible enemies". The main character, Ilija Čvorović, who was a victim of such a political mechanism and tyranny, now takes on the role of the persecutor and becomes an instrument of that very system as he pursues and spies on Peter, a completely innocent person, in order to prove his obedience to the authorities. Thus he turns out to be a tragicomic figure who completes a full circle of infernal insanity of an order that promotes paranoia, fear, hatred and loss of reason.

Awards

Montréal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.Pula Film Festival Pula Film 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 summer, in July or Aug ...

, 1984 - Best Film, Best Actor (Bata Stojković)

Legacy

The

Yugoslav Film Archive The Yugoslav Film Archive () is a film archive located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Founded in 1949, it was the national film library of the Yugoslavia and currently of Serbia. The main cinema operated by the Yugoslav Film Archive is named ...

, in accordance with its authorities based on the Law on Cultural Heritage, declared one hundred Serbian feature films (1911–1999) as

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

of great importance on December 28, 2016. ''Balkan Spy'' is also on that list.

References

External links

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