Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10419 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-08-21
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: Croatian
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 129 minutes

Synopsis
It's an open secret that father has been sent away to the mines for fooling around with the voluptuous object of desire of a communist party official. That's the way things were in 1950's Yugoslavia. Six-year-old Malik, however, thinks Papa is away on business. As seen through his eyes, this film magnifies the emotions of his new experiences, punctuated by trips to visit his Papa.

Customer Reviews

Superbly entertaining
"When Father Was Away On Business" is my favourite Kusturica film after "Time Of The Gypsies". No overwrought symbolism or elaborate parodies, just a straight story from a (now) lost world, seen through the eyes of a young boy whos father is sentenced to forced labour in a mine because he once had an affair with a party officials girlfriend. Intelligent, burlesque black Balkan humour at its best. Only the rather forced and improbable ending stops me from giving this film 5 stars.

An insight into history, but not as compelling as I would have liked.
A friend recommended Kusturica to me, and I have to say he's hard work as a director. This is an epic story of a man who is caught up in the turmoil of Yugoslav politics. It has many touching scenes, and I love the feel to this film - showing how hard life is for the family and the unfolding mystery of growing up through the eyes of a small boy. Having stuck with it to the end, I felt more worthy than entertained.