After spending 20 years in America, aging widower Marko Sekulovic (Karl Malden) returns to his Yugoslavian homeland to take care of his two young grandchildren. But Marko's quiet life is in for a shake up when he meets the pretty new village schoolteacher, Lana (Jodi Thelen). Malden pays tribute to his Yugoslav heritage in this affecting 1982 drama.
Acting
Malden's lived-in, tender performance — arguably his finest late career work.
Cinematography
Lush Yugoslav countryside that aches with beauty and loss.
Direction
Paskaljević lets silences speak louder than dialogue.
Director
Goran Paskaljević
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Malden, son of Serbian immigrants, insisted on filming in his parents' actual home region — the village extras were his distant relatives.
Released during Yugoslavia's final decade, the film now reads as accidental elegy for a country that would fracture violently within a decade.
YU
