Tito i ja

When this film was made in 1992 Yugoslavia entered its bloody wars of disintegration.

Author wanted to show to the public that love of the Marshal Tito by his peoples at the same time carried seeds of the wars which were conducted between 1992 and 1995.

Just as any Communist leader he created cult of the personality around himself and a very dangerous clique of the inner circle and even more dangerous Yugoslav National Army (JNA) which in the end decided to shoot at its own peoples.

Just as we all found out that it was all a farce in the end, so does the principle character finds out that he was an idiot by writing about Tito that he loves him more then his own parents. How in the Earth a Serb kid could write something like that about a Croat?

If you are interested in the former Yugoslavia this is a must see.

Goran Markovic, known more for his dramatic work, achieved something that's eluded many great filmmakers - both smart and funny comedy. Based loosely on his own life as a kid growing up in Tito's communist Yugoslavia in the 1950s, the movie centers around 10-year-old Zoran whose inspired poem about Tito written on a spur-of-the-moment-basis as an in-class assignment, earns him a trip with other deserving pupils retracing Tito's "revolutionary trails" in Tito's hometown of Kumrovec.

One gets the feeling that this film was 25 years in the making and that Markovic had this idea all throughout his career but was just waiting for the right political atmosphere to finally make it.

Movie is very heartwarming even though it hints at many unpleasant aspects of the communist regime in Yugoslavia. It doesn't give into the temptation of using this setting to get cheap and obvious laughs or to sprinkle in personal political statements together with the humour. Instead, it deals with everything in a light but intelligent manner, takes time to set up the supporting characters and delivers fabulous entertainment.

Great stuff.

"Tito i ja" or "Tito and me" is beyond any doubt one of the best Serbian movies of all times. There are several reasons for such an opinion.

It's a comedy and satire shaped movie with a serious background story concerning the values in the post WW2 Yugoslavian society. Obsession with Marshall Tito, the undisputed ruler and the political system which follows his character is the main theme, seen through a child's perspective. The main character, a 10 year old boy Zoran from Belgrade tries to find himself between his divers family, friends, girls who he starts to notice and a communist regime which infiltrates all the life's pores. Love can be confusing and Zoran will discover that during the boy scout expedition to the Tito's native village Kumrovec. A convincing performance was also given by Lazar Ristovski (Comrade Raja), a party instructed delegate whose task was to plan and execute the expedition. The cynicism and narrow minded appearance of his character does represent the true state of the communist regime and it's impact on daily life.

"Tito i ja" is also the best and probably the last good work of Goran Markovic, who for reasons unknown utterly lost his common sense and creativity after this movie, and started making rubbish.

This is among the best films I've ever seen.

The movie is a tribute to individuality. Zoran is a 10-year-old boy but he is his own man despite being surrounded by peer pressure and communist propaganda. There are so many quirks in his personality that one can't help but to like him.

It is the kind of movie that would not get made in Hollywood in a million years.

"Tito i ja" is one of the best Yugoslavian movie creations ever. A tale of a boy growing up in a world divided between communists and the "other" ones, gives a great representation of Yugoslavian socialism. Unfortunately, many parts of this movie are not easy to understand unless a viewer is very familiar with the life of Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavia, etc.