''The Dagger'' () is a 1999

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by Miroslav Lekić. The film was written by Miroslav Lekić, Slobodan Stanojević and Igor Bojović. The plot is based on

Vuk Drašković Vuk Drašković ( sr-cyrl, Вук Драшковић, ; born 29 November 1946) is a Serbian writer and politician. He is the co-founder and former leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, serving as president from 1990 to 2024. He also served as th ...

's novel of the same name. Set in the 1960s and observed from the point of view of Alija Osmanović, a young Muslim medical student raised by a single mother, his entire family was slaughtered and his baby brother kidnapped by Chetniks during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, as the aftermath of a violent family feud between the Jugović (Christian) and Osmanović (Muslim) families. He not only learns that the Osmanović family were once a branch of the Jugović family who converted to Islam during the Ottoman era, but that, unbeknownst to his mother, he himself was a baby taken from the Jugović family, after the massacre on Christmas Eve in 1942. With both families now extinct, and Alija, as the descendant of both, torn between two cultures and two identities, he struggles to maintain his inner peace, desperately searching for his long lost step-brother and fighting the prejudices against the romantic relationship he has with a Serbian classmate. The film is based on fictive events of World War II and is centered on the atrocious crimes committed during that period, in particular the Jugović and Osmanović families. According to Vuk Drašković, the original novel is loosely based on the Pridvorica massacre. In 1999, the film was screened at the 13th Montenegro Film Festival, and gained five featured awards. The film also earned the "Fipresci Award" for Directing, five acting awards in the Niš Film Festival and the “Crystal Star” at the Brussels Film Festival.

Cast

Žarko Laušević Žarko Laušević ( sr-cyr, Жарко Лаушевић; ; 19 January 1960 – 15 November 2023) was a Serbian actor. He became a leading actor early in his career. By the age of 33, he was a major star across the former Yugoslavia on both stage ...

: Alija Osmanović / Ilija Jugović * Bojana Maljević: Milica Janković *

Aleksandar Berček Aleksandar Berček ( sr-cyr, Александар Берчек; born 4 September 1950) is a Serbian actor. He performed in more than one hundred films since 1971. He graduated at the Academy for theater, film, radio and television. He was the dir ...

: Halil 'Sikter' Efendija * Ljiljana Blagojević: Rabija Osmanović *

Petar Božović Petar Božović (; born 22 May 1946) is a Serbian actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theat ...

: Sabahudin Aga / Atifaga Tanović * Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic: Nićifor Jugović *

Nikola Kojo Nikola Kojo (; born 5 September 1967) is a Serbian actor and film director as well the TV Host of the game shows The Weakest Link. Biography Nikola was named after his great-grandfather, who was an protoiereus in Mostar. He made his acting debu ...

: Milan Vilenjak *

Svetozar Cvetković Svetozar Cvetković ( sr-Cyrl, Светозар Цветковић; born 20 June 1958) is a Serbian actor. He appeared in more than eighty films since 1980 and played the lead role in '' Do Not Forget Me Istanbul'' together with Mira Furlan Mir ...

: Selim Osmanović *

Josif Tatić Josif Tatić (13 April 1946 – 8 February 2013) was a Serbian film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1967 to 2011, such as Balkan Express (1983), Let's Fall in Love 2 (1989), Three Tickets to Hollywood (1993), Savior Savi ...

: Kemal Osmanović *

Dragan Nikolić Dragoslav "Dragan" Nikolić ( sr-cyr, Драгослав Драган Николић, ; 20 August 1943 – 11 March 2016) was a Serbian and Yugoslav actor. Nikolić studied at Dramatic Arts Academy in Belgrade. In 1967 he starred in the film ' ...

: Hodža * Dragan Maksimović: Zulfikar

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dagger 1999 films 1999 drama films 1990s war drama films 1990s Serbian-language films Serbian war drama films Films set in Bosnia and Herzegovina Films set in Yugoslavia Films set in Yugoslavia during World War II Films about race and ethnicity Films based on historical novels Serbian World War II films Yugoslav World War II films