When Father Was Away on Business
Directed by	Emir Kusturica
Produced by	Mirza Pašić
Written by	Abdulah Sidran
Starring	Moreno De Bartolli Miki Manojlović Mirjana Karanović Mustafa Nadarević Mira Furlan Davor Dujmović Predrag Laković Pavle Vujisić
Music by	Zoran Simjanović
Cinematography	Vilko Filač
Editing by	Andrija Zafranović
Release date(s)	September 12, 1985 (West Germany) October 11, 1985 (U.S.)
Running time	136 minutes
Language	Serbo-Croat
Gross revenue	$25,053 (West Germany only) $16,131 (USA only)

When Father Was Away on Business (Serbo-Croat: Otac na službenom putu, Отац на службеном путу) is a 1985 Yugoslavian film by Serbian director Emir Kusturica. The screenplay was written by the Bosnian dramatist Abdulah Sidran. Its subtitle is A Historical Love Film.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Awards 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Plot

Set in post-World War II Bosnia during the Informbiro period, the film tells the story through the eyes of a young boy Malik whose father Meša (played by Miki Manojlović) has been suspected of working for Cominform and sent to a labor camp after a careless remark about a political newspaper cartoon.

The movie opens in June 1950 with a local serenading field workers with Mexican songs because it's "safer" as the children climb trees and play around.

The story is from the perspective of the boy, Malik, who is led to believe that his father is on a business trip. Malik is a chronic sleepwalker.

After a while, Meša's wife and children rejoin him in Zvornik, where Malik meets Maša, the daughter of a Russian doctor. He falls in love with her, last sees her when the ambulance takes her away.

At the wedding of his uncle, Malik witnesses his father's affair with the pilotess, who afterwards tries to kill herself with the toilet's flush cord. Sena reconciles with her brother, who's been diagnosed with diabetes.

[edit] Cast

• Moreno De Bartolli as Malik Malkoč
• Miki Manojlović as Mehmed "Meša" Malkoč
• Mirjana Karanović as Senija "Sena" Malkoč (née Zulfikarpašić)
• Mira Furlan as Ankica Vidmar
• Mustafa Nadarević as Zijah "Zijo" Zulfikarpašić
• Predrag Laković as Franjo
• Pavle Vujisić as Muzafer Zulfikarpašić
• Slobodan Aligrudić as Ostoja Cekić
• Aleksandar Dorčev as Dr. Evgeni Liakhov
• Silvija Puharić as Masha Liakhov
• Emir Hadžihafizbegović as Fahro Zulfikarpašić
• Davor Dujmović as Mirza Malkoč
• Eva Ras as Ilonka Petrović
• Jelena Čović as Nataša Petrović
• Amer Kapetanović as Serjoža Petrović
• Zoran Radmilović as Brko Pilot
• Tomislav Gelić as Hamdo Malkoč, barber and mohel

[edit] Awards

The film took home two awards from the 1985 Cannes Film Festival, including the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) and the FIPRESCI Prize^[1], while also being nominated for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

[edit] See also

• List of Yugoslavian films

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• When Father Was Away on Business at the Internet Movie Database
• When Father Was Away on Business at Allmovie

v • d • e Films by Emir Kusturica 1980s Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (1981)  • When Father Was Away on Business (1985)  • Time of the Gypsies (1988) 1990s Arizona Dream (1993)  • Underground (1995)  • Black Cat, White Cat (1998) 2000s Life Is a Miracle (2004)  • Promise Me This (2007) Documentaries Super 8 Stories (2001)  • Maradona (2008)  • Seven Friends of Pancho Villa and the Woman with Six Fingers (2011)

v • d • e Palme d'Or winning films – 1980–1999 All That Jazz (1980) · Kagemusha (1980) · Man of Iron (1981) · Missing (1982) · Yol (1982) · The Ballad of Narayama (1983) · Paris, Texas (1984) · When Father Was Away on Business (1985) · The Mission (1986) · Under the Sun of Satan (1987) · Pelle the Conqueror (1988) · Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) · Wild at Heart (1990) · Barton Fink (1991) · The Best Intentions (1992) · Farewell My Concubine (1993) · The Piano (1993) · Pulp Fiction (1994) · Underground (1995) · Secrets & Lies (1996) · Taste of Cherry (1997) · The Eel (1997) · Eternity and a Day (1998) · Rosetta (1999) Complete List · (1939–1959) · (1960–1979) · (1980–1999) · (2000–present)

v • d • e Big Golden Arena for Best Film Yugoslav Best Film (1957–1990) Pop Ćira i pop Spira (1957) · H-8 (1958) · Vlak bez voznog reda (1959) · Deveti krug (1960) · Balada o trobenti in oblaku & Uzavreli grad (1961) · Kozara (1962) · Licem u lice (1963) · Službeni položaj (1964) · Prometej s otoka Viševice & Tri (1965) · Ponedjeljak ili utorak (1966) · Skupljači perja (1967) · Kad budem mrtav i beo (1968) · Nizvodno od sunca (1969) · Lisice (1970) · Rdeče klasje (1971) · Majstor i Margarita (1972) · Sutjeska (1973) · Užička Republika (1974) · Kuća (1975) · Idealist (1976) · Ne naginji se van (1977) · Okupacija u 26 slika (1978) · Trofej (1979) · Petrijin venac (1980) · Pad Italije (1981) · Wasn't awarded (1982) · Zadah tela (1983) · Balkanski špijun (1984) · Otac na službenom putu (1985) · Srećna nova '49. (1986) · Već viđeno (1987) · Život sa stricem (1988) · Sabirni centar (1989) · Gluvi barut (1990) Croatian Best Film (1992–present) Priča iz Hrvatske (1992) · Kontesa Dora (1993) · Wasn't awarded (1994) · Isprani (1995) · Kako je počeo rat na mom otoku (1996) · Mondo Bobo (1997) · Maršal (1998) · Kad mrtvi zapjevaju (1999) · Svjedoci (2000) · Polagana predaja (2001) · Fine mrtve djevojke (2002) · Tu (2003) · Duga mračna noć (2004) · Što je Iva snimila 21. listopada 2003. (2005) · Sve džaba (2006) · Živi i mrtvi (2007) · Ničiji sin (2008) · Metastaze (2009)