Balkan Spy (1984)
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Balkan Spy Movie Review
Balkan Spy (Balkanski špijun) is a 1984 Serbian comedy film directed by Dusan Kovacevic and starring Bata Stojkovic, Bora Todorovic and Mira Banjac. It’s a classic of Serbian cinema.
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“Fuck the sun that shines on you!“
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Convinced that his subtenant is a spy and an enemy of the state, a man falls into a deep paranoia which leads to absurd and destructive chain of events. In this story alone we get a lot of very important issues all explored so well. The inflation during this period in the country was particularly well portrayed, and the same goes for bad economy of this decade.
Obviously, the paranoia part is best portrayed. This movie portrays so accurately the paranoia of foreign countries and people, especially the fear of those who come from foreign countries into Yugoslavia. That was very truthfully portrayed, and very amusingly too. It’s also a terrific film when it comes to Stalinism and socialism.
So the film is very sophisticated. But a comedy needs to be funny, and not just smart. And thankfully, this film has both to offer in spades. Yes, this is by far one of the funniest films ever to be filmed in this country. The dialogue is absolutely exceptional, the script is stellar throughout and the humor is perfect.
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The paranoia the protagonist experiences leads to many very funny situations. The film ended up somewhat emotionally which was also important and it has its dramatic moments too, but for the most part it’s a pure comedy and it excels in that area. I personally laughed the most in the various insults that the protagonist directs toward his poor wife. That was absolutely hilarious.
The film wouldn’t work nearly as well hadn’t it been well acted. Not only is it well acted, but it’s in fact one of the best acted films that I have ever seen from this region. Admittedly, Mira Banjac is the weakest link as some of her emotional sequences felt over-the-top, but for the most part she delivered strong work. Bora Todorovic is typecast as this composed gentleman, but he’s great at such a role so he obviously delivered.
But words cannot describe what Bata Stojkovic did for this picture. Without him, the film wouldn’t have been nearly as funny as his performance here is spectacular and one of the best when it comes to the entire history of the comedy genre. His facial expressions are priceless, he is also very emotive and particularly his line delivery is top-notch, and thus every amusing line he turned into gold. He carries the film almost entirely on his capable shoulders.
Balkanski špijun is admittedly not all that technically impressive. I watched a poor version of it, but still the cinematography and score could have been better. The film is at its best when it’s dealing with conversations while the spying scenes themselves could have been more memorable overall.
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But it is a hugely sophisticated movie thematically and it’s also very honest and realistic in its depiction of its characters and this particular period in Yugoslav history. I also loved the escalation toward the end, and how it all concluded was very memorable and moving. The mid act was my least favorite whereas the first and the third act are both fantastic.
Balkanski špijun (Balkan Spy) is a sophisticated film that explores inflation, socialism and in particular the paranoia toward everything foreign in this period of Serbian history remarkably well. But it’s above all else a successful comedy that is very funny in its situations and dialogue, but Bata Stojkovic himself propelled the film to much greater heights with his top-notch line delivery and priceless facial expressions. Thus, it might be the best acting performance ever from this region, and the movie is undoubtedly a classic of Serbian cinema.
