I knew practically nothing about Goran Marković's "Tito i ja" ("Tito and Me" in English) when I started watching it. I was impressed. This focus on childhood in 1950s Yugoslavia manages to be both funny and disturbing at the same time. The protagonist is Zoran, a 10-year-old boy who writes a poem about how much he loves the country's ruler Tito (his family doesn't like the guy, but little Zoran is intent on proving what a good little communist he is). Sent on a trip with his classmates to recite the poem to Tito, Zoran develops feelings for a girl in the group while repeatedly angering the chaperone.
I wasn't familiar with Marković or his work before watching this movie. A previous reviewer said that Marković's work after "Tito and Me" sucked. I can neither confirm nor refute that, but having seen this movie, I'd like to see at least one more of his movies. As for Yugoslavia in the 1950s, I also recommend Emir Kusturica's "When Father Was Away on Business". I'd also like to see a movie or two about Yugoslavia's foreign relations, especially how Tito's defiance of the Soviet Union resulted in Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Eastern Bloc (as Howard Zinn put it, the Soviet Union - like the US - didn't want to support any revolution that it couldn't control).
I wasn't familiar with Marković or his work before watching this movie. A previous reviewer said that Marković's work after "Tito and Me" sucked. I can neither confirm nor refute that, but having seen this movie, I'd like to see at least one more of his movies. As for Yugoslavia in the 1950s, I also recommend Emir Kusturica's "When Father Was Away on Business". I'd also like to see a movie or two about Yugoslavia's foreign relations, especially how Tito's defiance of the Soviet Union resulted in Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Eastern Bloc (as Howard Zinn put it, the Soviet Union - like the US - didn't want to support any revolution that it couldn't control).