Belgrade, during the 1990s. Two childhood friends, Pinki and Švaba, grow up in the Paviljoni neighbourhood of New Belgrade while the Yugoslav Wars spread through Croatia and Bosnia. Fascinated by a flashy neighbour and by the gangsters who appear on a television show, they drift into crime at fourteen, in a city that feels to them like a theatre of the absurd under war and sanctions. The film looks at how everyday violence, moral confusion and the nationalism of the adults around them shape the boys as they try to make a name for themselves in the underworld.

How it was made

Srđan Dragojević, who wrote and directed the film, drew the attention of American agencies after the festival success of his 1996 film Lepa sela lepo gore. Instead of moving to Hollywood, he chose to stay in Serbia and develop a story inspired by a television news report about two teenage criminals. The project was backed by Cobra Film, the company run by the Bjelogrlić brothers. Dušan Pekić and Milan Marić lead the cast, alongside Miki Manojlović and Dragan Bjelogrlić, who also appears on screen. The music is by Saša Habić.

Reception and legacy

The film won a Bronze Horse at the Stockholm International Film Festival and a FIPRESCI Prize at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, where the jury praised its powerful and complex portrait of life in the Balkans. It is often cited as one of the works that addressed the wars and their aftermath through the eyes of urban youth, although its reach beyond the festival circuit was more limited.

Stills

Trivia

A name with history

Pinki's father wanted to call him Tito, but the registry office considered it inappropriate during the national mourning, so he settled on Pinki, after another Partisan fighter.

A script born from television

The story is based on a television news report about two teenage criminals in contemporary Belgrade, which served as the starting point for the project.

More films by Srđan Dragojević

Pretty Village, Pretty Flame1996

The Parade2011

St. George Shoots the Dragon2009 We Are Not Angels1992We Are Not Angels1992

Original Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.