Rent When Father Was Away on Business (1985)
3.7 of 5 from 128 ratings
2h 9min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Celebrated Balkan filmmaker Emir Kusturica won his first Palme d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's highest honour, for this exuberant portrait of 1950s Yugoslavia, as seen through the eyes of six-year-old Malik. As the country resists the pressures of Stalinism, many find themselves taken away 'on business' by the police for making imprudent statements against the government. But Malik's father Manojlovic finds himself imprisoned for an altogether less noble reason when his affair with the mistress of a high-ranking party official is discovered. Naively believing his Papa to be away on business, Malik must face up to life's sometimes poignant, often comic tribulations without him.
- Actors:
- Moreno D'E Bartolli, Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Mirjana Karanovic, Mustafa Nadarevic, Mira Furlan, Predrag Lakovic, Pavle Vuisic, Slobodan Aligrudic, Eva Ras, Aco Djorcev, Emir Hadzihafizbegovic, Zoran Radmilovic, Jelena Covic, Tomislav Gelic, Davor Dujmovic, Amer Kapetanovic, Silvija Puharic, Zaim Muzaferija, Bozidarka Frajt, Haris Burina
- Directors:
- Emir Kusturica
- Writers:
- Abdulah Sidran
- Aka:
- Otac na sluzbenom putu
- Studio:
- Artificial Eye Film Company Ltd.
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- Top 10 Cannes Palme d'Or Winners, Top Films
- Countries:
- Yugoslavia
- Awards:
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Reviews (4) of When Father Was Away on Business
Nostalgia with a Side of Revisionism - When Father Was Away on Business review by griggs
Father Was Away on Business arrived in 1985—ten years before Underground—and won Kusturica the Palme d’Or. Set during the Tito-Stalin split, it paints a nostalgic picture of postwar Yugoslavia before the country began to fracture. But if you’ve seen Underground, this feels oddly tame. The magical realism is a faint shimmer, the politics are hazy, and the tone rarely rises above a shrug.
What’s more striking in hindsight is how Kusturica’s later worldview begins to surface. The story follows a Bosnian Muslim family, yet the broader perspective leans subtly Serbian—a hint of the revisionism to come. It’s technically solid, even moving in parts, but emotionally it keeps its distance.
As Bernard-Henri Lévy put it, Kusturica is “so much more stupid than his work.” That tension lingers here. The film is carefully made and historically rich, but hard to love. A film you admire, more than one you feel.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Very enjoyable - When Father Was Away on Business review by TO
WMFwAoB is a glimpse of family life behind the Iron Curtain in the early 50s, a simple tale told well and with tenderness. There are no explosive plots twists, car chases or moments of high drama but it's a lovely film nonetheless.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Don't let the genre put you off - When Father Was Away on Business review by JD
The far reaching effects of Stalinism and that influence on Tito. Not a blockbuster plot. This is only a backdrop however for the superbly crafted view of the world as seen from the eyes of a 6 year old boy. His perception of his philandering and unreliable father is so childlike as to be nostalgic, his physical and psychological reaction to the stress suffered is tangible.
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.