Balkan movies are best known internationally through the Yugoslav Black Wave. However, other directors from former Yugoslavia have had worldwide film success. One of them is Srdjan Dragojevic.
Dragojevic is a Serbian director who overcame challenges to establish himself on the international movie map. He had to sell his authenticity and break through political issues for his films to survive. Luckily for him and us, he made it happen.
Let’s see the best Srdjan Dragojevic films so far.
Pretty Village, Pretty Flame (Lepa Sela Lepo Gore)
“Pretty Village Pretty Flame” is a war-drama movie from 1996. During the Bosnian War, two childhood friends, a Bosnian and a Serb become enemies. The initial idea for the movie came from a true story about soldiers stuck in a tunnel surrounded by their enemies. It has a non-linear structure, going back and forth.
Dragojevic shot the film on former battlefield places, in and around Visegrad. What’s even more fascinating is that he was shooting while the war was still happening. He and the crew shot an anti-war film during a war with government money. This wasn’t easy but somehow Dragojevic and his companions made it happen.
The movie was a success since over 800,000 people saw it in cinemas in Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Macedonia. It won awards at several film festivals, including the Stockholm Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival, and the Thessaloniki Film Festival.
You can watch the “Pretty Village Pretty Flame” full movie with English subtitles on Srdjan Dragojevic’s official Vimeo account for free.
The Parade (Parada)
Srdjan Dragojevic involves comedy in all his movies, and the same goes for “The Parade.” It’s about a homophobic gangster who must protect an upcoming Pride Parade for his fiancee to get her dream wedding.
Addressing homosexual subjects is dangerous but far more so in Serbia in 2011 when “The Parade” came out. Far-right groups were protesting against it but it became a hit. Dragojevic addresses serious themes through comedy, which made even older generations watch the movie. It’s his most successful film regarding accolades. He won numerous awards at film festivals, including Berlin.
Dragojevic has shared a beautiful story about this film’s impact. After one screening, a gay couple came up to him. One of them told Dragojevic that his parents didn’t talk to him for years because he was gay. After his parents saw “The Parade,” they began to communicate again. Also, Srdjan Dragojevic and the cast attended the Belgrade Pride Parade.
Here’s the Parada film online for free.
The Wounds (Rane)
“The Wounds” movie is about Pinki and Svaba, two young boys from Belgrade who are becoming gangsters in a collapsing society. Dragojevic addresses serious themes through comedy, once again. He made a mass casting to find two first-time actors for the main roles.
The two main characters are inspired by two Belgrade adolescent criminals, Marko “Kameni” Pejkovic and Mirko “Besa” Besevic. The film perfectly showcases Serbian society at the time. It became a cult movie over time but it was sabotaged by political figures when it came out. It was 1998, and Slobodan Milosevic was still in power. Therefore, such a realistic image of the state wasn’t approved. However, no one could stop such a powerful story and it sold 450,000 tickets right away.
Like with “Pretty Village, Pretty Flame,” Dragojevic once again won awards at the Stockholm and Thessaloniki Film Festival. Dusan Pekic, who plays Pinki, won a “Best Debut” award at the “Stozhary International Actors Film Festival.”
You can watch “The Wounds” here.
We Are Not Angels (Mi nismo andjeli)
“We Are Not Angels” is the most famous movie by Srđan Dragojević. It was his film school graduation piece and his debut full-length film. You can hear people quoting lines from this movie, even today.
It’s a 1992 comedy about a devil and an angel fighting for the soul of a Belgrade playboy who impregnates a young woman. Musician and actor Srdjan Todorovic plays the devil while conceptual artist and painter Uros Djuric plays the angel.
One thing that connects Srdjan Dragojevic and Milcho Manchevski, both from ex-Yugoslavia, is refusing to work under Hollywood rules. Dragojevic moved to New York City in 1999 and later lived in Los Angeles. However, he didn’t want to compromise his artistic freedom just to make movies.
He came back to Serbia in 2001 and made a sequel, “We Are Not Angels 2” in 2005. “We Are Not Angels 3” came out in 2006. He is the director and screenwriter of the first two. Petar Pasic is the director of the third one while Dragojevic wrote the screenplay with Pasic and Dimitrije Vojnov.
Here’s a link for the “We Are Not Angels” movie.
Heavens Above (Nebesa)
Srdjan Dragojevic’s authentic comedic dialogue is a blessing and a curse. Blessing because it made him authentic and successful. Curse because people put him in a frame and expect all his movies to be similar.
That’s why “Heavens Above” didn’t achieve Dragojevic’s usual box-office success, even though it’s an excellent movie. However, it had 6 wins and 24 nominations at various film festivals, including the Locarno Film Festival.
It’s his latest film, released in 2021. It’s about a kindhearted and simple man who becomes a saint after a glowing light bulb appears on his head after a freak accident.
Here’s a link for the “Heavens Above” film.
Two Hours of Quality TV Programming (Dva sata kvalitetnog TV programa)
No matter how many movies you have seen, you undoubtedly haven’t seen a film like this one. It’s a comedy TV movie from 1994 made for a New Year’s Eve program. No one expected such a small TV film to become a cult movie. However, Dragojevic’s satire, humor, and dialogue made it extremely famous.
The story is about the ongoing chaos in the country and the new urban cultural values being born during Milosevic’s regime. Aside from Srdjan Dragojevic as an author, the actors also did a fantastic job. The cast of “Two Hours of Quality TV Programming” includes:
- Nikola Kojo
- Dragan Bjelogrlic
- Zoran Cvijanovic
- Milorad Mandic – Manda
- Slobodan ‘Boda’ Ninkovic
- Dragan Jovanovic
- Nikola Pejakovic
Unfortunately, there are no English subtitles for “Two Hours of Quality TV Programming,” but you can enjoy it if you know Serbian.
Holidays in the Sun (Atomski zdesna)
“Holidays in the Sun” is the least successful movie by Srdjan Dragojevic. Nevertheless, it’s still worth the watch since it’s an interesting story. It’s about a Belgrade-born salesman at a Croatian resort who has an affair with a colleague who is the wife of the chief sales manager.
It came out in 2014 with an excellent cast. Srdjan Todorovic won the “Car Konstantin Award” for “Best Actor.” Of course, here’s the “Holidays in the Sun” movie if you want to watch it.
St. George Shoots the Dragon (Sveti Georgije ubiva azdahu)
“St. George Shoots the Dragon” is the only Srdjan Dragojevic film for which he didn’t write the screenplay. Dragojevic directed it while the script was written by famous playwright, Dusan Kovacevic.
The story takes place before World War 1 in villages where war invalids from the Balkan wars disagree with fighting men. Once the fighting men go to war, the war invalids use the chance to charm their wives. Believe it or not, the story was inspired by real events.
This 2009 movie would have been a lot more successful but there were several problems. Funding began in 1998 but it finally got enough money in 2007. Sergej Trifunovic should have played the role of war cripple Gavrilo but he got fired. He got into an argument with actor and producer Lazar Ristovski over creative aspects. Furthermore, cinematographer Miljen Kljakovic left, reportedly because he wasn’t being paid according to his contract. On top of it all, opposition right-wing politicians protested against it stating it’s not historically accurate.
Unfortunately, the movie didn’t achieve its potential. However, it got recognition at film festivals, including Montreal.
Here’s the “St. George Shoots the Dragon” full movie.
Final Thoughts on Srdjan Dragojevic Movies
Dragojevic remains one of the most authentic film directors. His talent to address serious themes through comedy is rare. Dragojevic’s movies are a fantastic way to digest difficult subjects.
Srdjan’s will to achieve artistic freedom is still present. His newest project is sabotaged by Serbian government officials, yet he doesn’t quit. Quite the contrary, he supported colleagues Zelimir Zilnik and Goran Markovic who have the same issue.
Srdjan Dragojevic is not only a film director, he is also a rebel.
framebyframecritic 
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