When Father Was Away on Business (1985)

Film: When Father Was Away on Business (1985)

Stars: Moreno de Bartoli, Miki Manojlovic, Mirjana Karanovic, Mira Furlan

Director: Emir Kusturica

Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Foreign Language Film-Yugoslavia)

Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

I decided to clear out the Netflix discs I had in the house, and Netflix decided to ship me When Father Was Away on Business.  I think the reasoning here was that I wanted to see it after the recent death of Mira Furlan, who died in January.  Furlan was the first major cast member from the television series Lost to pass away (unless I'm missing someone, correct me in the comments), and played the character of Danielle Rousseau for six seasons of the show.  If you know me at all (or have just visited this blog for the very first time), you know that I love the television series Lost more than pretty much anything, and as a result I wanted to honor her in some way, but alas in the pandemic my good intentions in January got deterred, so I wasn't able to relate this back to Furlan.  Better-late-than-never, though, and so today we're going talk about When Father Was Away on Business, which was Furlan's big break in Yugoslavian cinema, and won both the Palme d'Or at Cannes & was nominated for the Best Foreign Language film category at the Academy Awards.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie takes place in the early 1950's, right after World War II, in Yugoslavia.  We hear the story largely from the point-of-view of a young boy named Malik (de Bartoli), whose father Mesa (Manojlovac) is having an affair with a young air-pilot, Ankica (Furlan).  When Ankica accidentally makes a comment about her lover's politics, Mesa is sent to a work camp, aided by his brother-in-law who quickly shacks up with Ankica.  The film continues showing what his wife Sena (Karanovic) goes through as she raises two boys alone, and then in a work camp with her philandering husband.  The movie ends on a strange note, with Mesa finally free, and in some ways enacting revenge on his brother-in-law (recently diagnosed with diabetes, his drinking habits sure to doom him if his political misalliances don't), but not on Ankica, with whom he has an angry sexual congress with, which Malik sees, thus breaking the illusion of his father's "business trips."

The movie itself is a bit dry, and not particularly interesting in retrospect.  It's always hard to gage exactly how progressive a film is under a less democratic regime, which is what was happening in 1985 in Yugoslavia (I am not an expert on the country's politics).  After the death of Marshal Tito in 1980, the country entered into something of an authoritarian council, though it was trying to in some capacities to dismiss communism in favor of a more capitalistic approach (which had middling success, at least in the 1980's).  Either way, the film is not shy about criticizing the arbitrary nature of Tito's government & the way that it used scare tactics to stifle political discourse, though it does it in a funny way (think some of Milos Forman's films in Czechoslavakia in the 1960's).  Unfortunately, the comedy doesn't save the film, and the rest is a bit plodding, and way too long.

As for Furlan, she's given a nothing part.  Her character attempts suicide haphazardly near the end of the movie, with limited success (her doing so essentially just accidentally flushes the toilet...it's a weird scene).  The movie doesn't really know what to do with her, which is a pity as Furlan would grow into a fine actress.  Her work on Lost is some of my favorite side character work in the series, making a guest spot so memorable that fans would clamor for her & her mystery for years, eventually getting a backstory & even a final season reappearance.  Though I didn't love her in the film that made her known to cinephiles, her work on Lost will forever be in my heart.