User reviews

I only registered to congratulate Goran Bogdan on his excellent role 10/10 and all the authors on a good movie 8/10

I watched the movie premiere last night. Most of all I was touched by the children. And maybe that was the goal. As a viewer, that's enough for me, I enjoyed it. I read reviews that for some reason, the film overstates. Well done to Goran Bogdan and Hope Sargin too.

I put so much hope into this movie and I was most disappointed by the audience who applauded for a long time and commented that was disappointed. The authors did a good job. It's a good directing, a good story, great actors, but it's missing... a movie. Father didn't touch my emotions the way I expected, I'm sorry. Maximum 7/10.

The Serbian film Otac (2020) was shown in the U. S. with the translated title Father. It was co-written and directed by Srdan Golubovic.

Goran Bogdan stars as Nikola--a worker who has been cheated of his severance pay by a factory at which he had been employed. He know works as a day laborer, doing difficult jobs whenever he can find them.

Despite his efforts, the municipality has taken his children from him. It's not a matter of right or wrong. It's a matter of a corrupt official who gains financially when children are put into foster care.

The movie shows us the immense sacrifices that Nikola makes to reunite his family. It's a great film about a man who refuses to be crushed.

We saw this film in Rochester's wonderful Dryden Theatre in The George Eastman Museum. It was shown as part of the outstanding Rochester Labor Film Series. Father has a strong IMDb rating of 7.6. I think it's a masterpiece, and rated it 10.

A very sad story based on true events. Highly recommended

A touching film.... He lacks consistency and conviction from start to finish. all this was forcefully told despite the excellent Goran Bogdan. 6/10

This is a film about a father who make every effort trying to claim back his two children when his wife is hospitalised due to poverty. It shows the extreme poverty in some of the rural areas in the Balkan while showing the failure of its government, federal and local alike in providing basic humanity to its citizens. The film is well made with excellent performances especially the lead actor.

This is typical Serbian story. Many people really live like this in the Balkans. SO REAL!

I expected much more from Srdan Golubovic. I love Goran Bogdan but he did not fit me in this role. I was at the premiere tonight at FEST and was a little disappointed. Unexpectedly pretentious. To old glory 5/10.

The true Serbia is shown. Great symbolism throughout the movie.

The real person behind this story is from Priboj, I think.

This movie shows us a clear view of the way things are managed in Serbia. Very difficult times, people are losing jobs and the state doesn't care for nothing except their own pockets. Everything is presented as it is, and the sad part is that there is no shame to it, the authorities just keep getting more greedy. The real story is a bit different but the point is definitely there. I just hope the father keeps on fighting. 5 years have gone by, but there is still hope. I would definitely recommend watching this heartbreaking story.

Very emotional. I don't like the design of the movie but the acting is great and it is very well directed. I have to watch it again, though this movie is one that you hardly see twice. I like it.

This is an intriguing yet bleak look at how poverty and corruption can totally alter the course of someone's life. Nikola is a day labour, recently fired from his factory job making pipes in his small, rural village. He is owed severance pay and wages, which his ex-employer refuses to give him. Thus, he has to take on meagre day labour jobs in order to have some income. He and his wife struggle to provide for their primary school aged children against a backdrop of extreme poverty and corruption by the town's local officials. With the children taken into foster care, Nikola sets off on a 150km journey for the Serbian capital to plead for their return.

Here is a struggling and stark reminder of how much power (or how little) people have based solely on their economic standings. While Nikola and his wife can't financially provide for their kids, he is still desperate to have them back at any price. The film has a universal theme of parental love. This movie was really well-made and well-acted. The lead actor, in particular, carried the emotional toll of this film brilliantly as he is often the only character on screen for a good chuck of the movie.

Being completely unfair with Serbian cinema, this was a really good film and gave a lot of insight on rural Serbian culture.

A brilliant and courageous film depicting a heartless administrative system where no one cares about the common man, poor and jobless, outside that system. Great role of Goran Bogdan, Boris Isakovic, Milan Maric and other actors. A film that moves boundaries and makes you think long after you watch it. True story.

For me this movie is one big disappointed. I understand problem which this movie want to present, and thats ok. But movie itself is bad. Noticed few wrong sentences, some situations just cant happend in real life. Only positive thing in this movie is that finally Serbs are not presented as bad people in 80% of movie time, they all want to help till the moment when main character returns to home and see what he sees. But in overall Serbs wanted to help and that's good. Finnaly some movie without hate towards serbs, and without autochauvinism.

Improved technology to make a movie about serbian despair. Doesn't have a message, doesn't have a story and doesn't have energy, only suffering and silence.

The main character is lifeless and has no arguments why he should take custody over his children, while the state official is eloquent and manipulative. The first part is filled with silence and is very boring. The second part gets a little more interesting with his journey, but as all serbian movies with similar theme, there is no speech.

All in all, at least what this movie did was make me write a negative review :D Because all serbian movies run on the same template, speechless suffering.