Milan - Dar

This is a very nice complement to better-known "Santa Maria della Salute" by the same director, made 30 years later. It begins about the time "Santa Maria" ends, with Laza Kostic married, but many more prominent people in Serbia needing help to survive, neglected by the autocratic king Aleksandar Obrenovic. Milan Savic devoted much of his life to helping them, and he was one of the best known Serbs of the time. The movie is very well done (in my opinion, better than "Santa Maria"), with many great actors bringing their characters into life again. Especially enjoyable is the scene depicting the attempt to marry Jovan Cvijic to a rich heiress, with hilarious Mira Banjac and Drago Cuma. Funny and tragic at the same time...