We Are Not Angels

Ми нисмо анђели
Mi nismo anđeli
We Are Not Angels

DVD cover
Directed by Srđan Dragojević
Produced by Gojko Kastratović
Ranko Petrič
Written by Srđan Dragojević
Starring Nikola Kojo
Uroš Đurić
Srđan Todorović
Milena Pavlović
Zoran Cvijanović
Branka Katić
Vesna Trivalić
Music by Aleksandar Eraković
Cinematography Dušan Joksimović
Edited by Branka Čeperac
Release date
 1992
Running time
 98 min
Country Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia
Language Serbian

We Are Not Angels (Serbian: Ми нисмо анђели / Mi nismo anđeli) is a 1992 Serbian comedy movie directed by Srđan Dragojević that became one of the most popular films of the 1990s in the region of the former Yugoslavia. The plot revolves around Angel (played by Uroš Đurić) and Devil (Srđan Todorović) fighting for the soul of Belgrade playboy Nikola (Nikola Kojo) who is unaware that he impregnated a high school student named Marina (Milena Pavlović) during a drunken one-night stand.

The film was lauded by critics for its inventive direction, tight editing, urban humour and its large number of pop culture references. Its commercial success and later cult status, however, could be at least partially attributed to specific circumstances at the time of the film's premiere. Namely, before the film reached theatres, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was put under UN sanctions, thus depriving local theatres of Hollywood blockbusters. Many Serbian films filled that void and had great commercial success, including We Are Not Angels.

When the film began shooting, Yugoslavia only just began to disintegrate, so the film refers to certain locations in newly independent and war-torn Croatia as tourist destinations. The war itself is, however, referred to in a brief but darkly comical scene. The popularity of We Are Not Angels expanded beyond Serbian borders. In Croatia, the film turned into a huge underground attraction and gradually became part of the popular culture, most notably through various slang words that became part of urban vocabulary.

Characters

Production

The movie was shot during fall 1991 using the production capabilities of Avala Film. The making of the movie coincided with the beginning stages of the disintegration of SFR Yugoslavia that included continual ethnically motivated incidents in the breakaway constituent republic of SR Croatia that culminated in the Battle of Vukovar.

Since the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) was involved in the above conflict, it was conscripting young men for battle thus many of the film's male crew members including director Dragojević received military call-ups. According to Dragojević, in order to avoid the draft, they resorted to sleeping in different apartments most nights during the movie's shooting.[1]

Release and reception

The film was lauded by critics for its inventive direction, tight editing, urban humour and its large number of pop culture references. Its commercial success and later cult status, however, could be at least partially attributed to specific circumstances at the time of the film's premiere. Namely, before the film reached theatres, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was put under UN sanctions, thus depriving local theatres of Hollywood blockbusters. Many Serbian films filled that void and had great commercial success, including We Are Not Angels. In 1996, the members of the Yugoslavian Board of the Academy of Film Art and Science (AFUN) voted this film the ninth best Serbian movie in the 1947–1995 period.

Sequels

We Are Not Angels 2 (2005)

Break-through role of Mirka Vasiljević who became a teen idol.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dragojevic@PodatakPlus on YouTube; November 2011
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