When Father Was Away on Business

There have been several movies about the adult world as seen by children. "Daniel" and "Matinee" are good examples from the United States. A good one from the former Yugoslavia is Emir Kusturica's "Otac na sluzbenom putu" ("When Father Was Away on Business" in English).

When Sarajevo man Mesa is arrested in 1950 for criticizing a cartoon, his wife Sena has to tell son Malik that the dad is on a business trip. As the movie progresses, Malik comes to understand the political status quo in this country straddling east and west.* Moreover, it becomes clear that Mesa is not the world's most responsible person, preferring to go screw attractive women to raising his son.

One thing is that I like seeing films about cultures that we rarely see. Beyond that, this look at political tensions - and how the boy has to learn about sex on his own - fascinates me. I definitely recommend the movie.

PS: Emir Kusturica also directed "Arizona Dream" (starring Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis and Faye Dunaway) in the United States) and "Black Cat, White Cat" back in his native country.

*Tito's disagreements with Stalin led to Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Eastern Bloc, so it aligned itself with the west but maintained an Eastern Bloc-style government.