Migrations – The Most Glorious of Wars

Seobe

The film tells the fate of mercenaries during the baroque wars of the 18th century during the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia. Austrian empress Maria-Theresa von Habsburg wants to declare war with the French before taking on the Prussians. For that reason, he sends Serbs to the front lines, as she considers them subordinate men. However, they are ready at all costs to reconquer a parcel of independence. The movie follows the parallel fates of the two Isakovitch brothers, Vouk and Archange. The first leads a regiment of Serbian mercenaries who will fight the war until reaching France. The second, a handsome and shrewd merchant, claims his sister-in-law Daphina (Isabelle Huppert) who he has cared for in the absence of his brother. Tragedy and death await at the end of the road…

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Aleksandar Petrović
Script: Aleksandar Petrović in collaboration with Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, after the novel Migrations by Miloš Crnjanski
Cinematography: Witold Dabal, Igor Luther
Editing: Vuksan Lukovac
Sound: Fred Echelard
Music: XVIIth and XVIIIth century marches, Serb, Russian and Greek religious music
Actors: Avtandil Makharadze, Isabelle Huppert, Richard Berry, Bernard Blier, Erland Josephson, Dragan Nikolić, Miki Manojlović, Rade Marković, Petar Božović, Ljubomir Cipranić, Emanuel Cenčić
Production: Radio Televizija Srbije, Ekonomik trade Milan Pejić
Producers: Nikola Popović, Goran Crnjanski
Costumes: Jacques Fonteray, Divna Jovanović
Executive producer: «TRI» Beograd, Yugoslav-French film
Sets: Milenko Jeremić, Boris Moravec
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: France, Yugoslavia
Production Year: 1989
Duration: 119΄
Contact: L’Association de Sauvegarde et d’Exploitation des Films et OEuvres d’Alexandre Petrović

Aleksandar Petrović

Aleksandar Petrović was born in Paris on January 14th, 1929. His parents, Dragomir and Anka, studied in France after World War I. The Petrović family moved back to Belgrade in 1930. In 1947, Petrović went to the Academy of Film in Prague (FAMU), but for political reasons, returned to Belgrade in 1948. He then started working as an assistant director and film and art critic, and continued his studies in art history. His first short film Flight Above the Marshes represented Yugoslavia for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival in 1957. In 1961, his only son Dragan was born and suffered from encephalitis which left him handicapped for the rest of his short life. In 1966, Petrović’s third feature film Three was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. In 1967, I Even Met Happy Gypsies received the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Petrović was one of the first intellectuals to oppose Slobodan Milosevic and took a strong stance against nationalism and war until his death. In 1987, Petrović finished shooting his final film, Migrations, starring Isabelle Huppert and Richard Berry. Aleksandar Petrović died in Paris on August 20th, 1994, before seeing the Migrations premiere.

Filmography

1955 Shoulder by Shoulder (short doc)
1956-1957 Flight Over the Marshes (short)
1957 Petar Dobrović (short)
1958 The Only Exit
1958 The Roads (short)
1960 The War on War (short)
1961 And Love Has Vanished
1963 Days
1964 Record (short)
1965 Assemblies (short)
1965 Three
1967 I Even Met Happy Gypsies
1968 It Rains in My Village
1972 The Master and Margarita
1977 Group Portrait with Lady
1989 Migrations – The Most Glorious of Wars