The Dagger (1999 film)
The Dagger (Serbian: Нож / Nož, "Knife") is a 1999 Yugoslav war film directed by Miroslav Lekić. The film was written by Miroslav Lekić, Slobodan Stanojević and Igor Bojović. The plot is based on Vuk Drašković's novel of the same name.
The Dagger Нож Nož | |
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Directed by | Miroslav Lekić |
Written by | Miroslav Lekić Slobodan Stojanović |
Based on | Nož, a novel by Vuk Drašković |
Produced by | Bojan Maljević Bojana Maljević |
Starring | Žarko Laušević Bojana Maljević |
Cinematography | Veljko Despotović |
Edited by | Branislav Milošević |
Music by | Toma Babović Aleksandar Milić |
Distributed by | Monte Royal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 135 minutes |
Country | Yugoslavia |
Language | Serbian |
The main motive of the film is chauvinistic Greater Serbia propaganda and the spread of national and religious hatred towards non-Serbs, primarily Bosniaks and Muslims, falsely pointing out the same historical origin of both opposed ethnic groups, Serbs and Bosniaks - Orthodox Christians and Sunni Muslims, respectively. Set in the 1960s and observed from the point of view of Alija Osmanović, a young Muslim medical student raised by a single mother, his entire family was slaughtered and his baby brother kidnapped by Chetniks during the Second World War, as the aftermath of a violent family feud between the Jugović (Christian) and Osmanović (Muslim) families. He not only learns that the Osmanović family were once a branch of the Jugović family who converted to Islam during the Ottoman era, but that, unbeknownst to his mother, he himself was a baby taken from the Jugović family, after the massacre on Christmas Eve in 1942. With both families now extinct, and Alija, as the descendant of both, torn between two cultures and two identities, he struggles to maintain his inner peace, desperately searching for his long lost step-brother and fighting the prejudices against the romantic relationship he has with a Serbian classmate.
The film is based on fictive events of World War II and is centered on the atrocious crimes committed during that period, in particular the Jugović and Osmanović families.
In 1999, the film was screened at the 13th Montenegro Film Festival, and gained five featured awards.[1][2] The film also earned the “Fipresci Award” for Directing, five acting awards in the Niš Film Festival and the “Crystal Star” at the Brussels Film Festival.[2]
Cast
- Žarko Laušević : Alija Osmanovic / Ilija Jugovic
- Bojana Maljević : Milica Jankovic
- Aleksandar Berček : Halil 'Sikter' Efendija
- Ljiljana Blagojević : Rabija Osmanovic
- Petar Božović : Sabahudin Aga / Atifaga Tanovic
- Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic : Nicifor Jugovic
- Nikola Kojo : Milan Vilenjak
- Svetozar Cvetković : Selim Osmanovic
- Josif Tatić : Kemal Osmanovic
- Dragan Nikolić : Hodza
- Dragan Maksimović : Zulfikar
References
- "13. filmski festival". Montenegro Film Festival. Freshidea. 1999. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- "The Dagger". Monte Royal. © Monte Royal Pictures International. 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.