Tito and Me

Goran Marković's 1992 Serbian film follows Zoran, ten years old, living in Belgrade in the fifties. His family is against Tito; the boy takes him for his personal hero and wins a place on a march with an essay he writes about him. The humour comes from the resemblance between a cult and a child's adoration: Zoran's love is pure and the system's demand is calculated, and both speak the same language. Marković made it as Yugoslavia was breaking apart, and it was read at the time as a reckoning with the past. It won awards for direction and for its child actor at San Sebastián. The narrative is episodic and the final section weaker. Who it's for: viewers interested in Yugoslav cinema and political satire. Who it's not for: anyone without the historical context, or wanting sharp political analysis.