Maratonci trce pocasni krug (1982)
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Maratonci trce pocasni krug Movie Review
Maratonci trce pocasni krug (The Marathon Family) is a 1982 Serbian comedy film directed by Slobodan Sijan and starring Bogdan Diklic, Bata Stojkovic, Pavle Vujisic and many others. It’s a classic of Serbian cinema.
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“You old bastard,
you are a hundred years old,
and you lie and cheat“
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The Topalovic family has been in the burial business for generations. When the old (150 years old) Pantelija dies, five generations of his heirs start to fight for the inheritance. This was my first time seeing this iconic movie that in my country is considered to be an absolute masterpiece. While it’s not my personal favorite domestic movie, it is undeniably one of the best things to ever come out of Serbia/former Yugoslavia.
A film that would undoubtedly be very difficult and almost impossible to fully comprehend by anybody who lives outside this country, Maratonci is as Serbian as you can get both in tone and in its themes. While even I myself would say that it’s tonally a rather odd film, ultimately I came to fully appreciate it for its diversity in tones and genres. This is in essence a black comedy, but it’s so dark and so brutal in its body count that it genuinely seemed like a drama that was turned into a comedy at the very last minute. It’s also a crime movie and a period piece while undoubtedly being a social satire first and foremost.
The film satirizes Yugoslavia as a country through the Topalovic family. This wasn’t known only until recently as Slobodan Sijan and writer Dusan Kovacevic successfully evaded the communist censors at the time by making a story that is highly vague and almost simplistic, but when you realize all the parallels, you begin to appreciate just how sophisticated this metaphor is.
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This family stands for Yugoslavia as a whole and particularly Tito, who never left anything to the country after he died, leading to the eventual turmoil and utter destruction of the former Yugoslavia as a country. This almost nihilist feel to the story is very much in line with how most Serbs unfortunately think of their country, which is why it proved to be relatable and funny instead of sad for most of the viewers, resembling a defense mechanism of sorts.
Maratonci also deals with additional themes, including the toxic relationships that men in the family often had in this country with the Laki-Mirko dynamic being very abusive, though still undeniably funny in its slapstick humor. There is also the added element of cinema history and the first sound movies arriving to the country back in 1934. How movies were made and how sound came in was touched upon, which made the film a wonderful treat for us cinephiles.
Bora Todorovic as this filmmaker who is hilariously more into smut than real movies was wonderfully typecast and he was terrific. Seka Sablic was also well cast as the love interest of the poor Mirko, who was also well performed by Bogdan Diklic. He was quite memorable as the abused and frustrated youngest member of the family. The women in the movie are unfortunately sidelined, but I would hardly call the film misogynistic as Kristina is still well developed and quite realistic.
Pavle Vujisic played the sanest member of the family and he almost acted as the straight man to the rest of the group, which was necessary to counter all of the others’ over-the-top demeanor. The oldest grandfather was hilarious. His perverse and joker ways were well mined for laughs. Mija Aleksic was another standout and the scenes where he was scared shitless were his funniest moments.
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But the highlight of course has to be Bata Stojkovic in the role of the neurotic and easily angered Laki. He stole the movie from everybody else with his many hilarious, biting remarks and his superbly executed slapstick moments. How he constantly beat up his son always made me laugh. He represents the best of Serbian humor and he was truly a brilliant performer.
I also have to praise the Billy character played so memorably by Zoran Radmilovic. He is a member of a family that acts as an arch-nemesis to the Topalovic family and it was quite fun watching them square off against each other until the third act when it turned violent of course. The graveyard prank sequence was another comedic highlight. The third act did, in fact, become too unhinged and dark for better and for worse, but the final ambiguous moment was a great way to end this story.
So yes, Maratonci features an all-star cast of who’s who of Serbian cinema, every one of these actors delivering unforgettable performances. The characterization is top-notch for the small screen time that most received and actually quite admirable given the huge character count. The script is sophisticated and layered, but the technical aspects are also surprisingly strong for an 80s domestic movie. The restored version showcased just how artistic this film is. The cinematography is very good, the directing is phenomenal and the highlight is the editing as the movie in its one and a half hour runtime felt stupendously taut and efficient with every small moment being important for the larger narrative and no single scene being wasted.
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The humor is excellent as the film is for the most part very playful and witty, though the darker elements and the utter immorality of the characters made it somewhat tonally inconsistent and difficult to laugh at times. But so many famous quotes from the movie persist in popular culture of the country today, which just goes to showcase this film’s vast influence and staying power.
Maratonci trce pocasni krug is one of the most iconic Serbian movies for a reason. Although this film would be almost impossible to comprehend by anybody outside this country, it is a domestic classic due to its unforgettable, hilarious dialogue, phenomenal performances from its outstanding cast and a story that is richly layered in themes and different tones and genres employed. The central family stands as a metaphor for the former Yugoslavia and its impending destruction. The movie also benefits from economic pacing and a wonderful emphasis on cinema history. It’s an exceedingly dark and tragic, but undeniably impressive black comedy.
My Rating – 4.5
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