Variola vera (1982)

Director:

Goran Markovic

Writers:

Goran Markovic (writer)
Milan Nikolic (co-writer)

Release Date:

9 July 1982 (Yugoslavia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This is a true story of the famous Variola epidemic outbreak in Belgrade. |

Plot Keywords:

Disturbing | Epidemic | Disaster | Based On True Story

Cast

Rade Serbedzija	...	Doktor Grujic
Erland Josephson	...	Dr. Dragutin Kenigsmark
Dusica Zegarac	...	Doktorka Markovic
Varja Djukic	...	Doktorka Danka Uskokovic
Rade Markovic	...	Upravnik Cole
Vladislava Milosavljevic	...	Medicinska sestra Slavica (as Vladica Milosavljevic)
Peter Carsten	...	Epidemiolog iz UN-a (as Peter Karsten)
Aleksandar Bercek	...	Magistar Jovanovic
Radmila Zivkovic	...	Medicinska sestra Zaga
Semka Sokolovic-Bertok	...	Doktorka Ciric
Bogdan Diklic	...	Dusko
Velimir Zivotic	...	Ministar u vladi
Milo Miranovic	...	Lozac Mile
Dzemail Maksut	...	Halil Redzepi
Katica Zeli	...	Cistacica

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

Yugoslavia

Language:

Serbo-Croatian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Art Film 80

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one scene, a chopper takes off from in front of the hospital, disappearing into the Belgrade skyline. In the distance, "Palata Beograd", the then-highest tower block on the Balkans, can clearly be seen. In 1972, when the story is supposed to be taking place, the tower was still being built and far from finished.

Movie Connections:

References Ostre sledované vlaky (1966)

More than scary ...

This is really scary and shocking movie that deals with true events of smallpox epidemic that hits former Yugoslavia in 1972 (I was one year old and my parents still remember all this). Movie works excelent in building tense atmosphere from the first second - when you hear amazingly creepy score and see first scenes where a pilgrim buy a little "doomed" flute from a man infected with smallpox, to the moment when he get sick and spread desease that finally stuck in General hospital in Belgrade where main plot of the movie occurs. We see, death, fear, anarchy, people get crazy, army build quarantine ... the creepiest moments of the movie are showing infection (makeup are stunning) and suffering of patients and definitelly occurence of main infectologyst dressed in scary white suit which, in conjunction with amazingly simple and effective score give unbearable tension and unpleasant feelings (only remark I have is that he reveal himself at the end of the movie - and I think it would be better that we don't know any fact about him). It is only sad that we don't see any events that occurred outside hospital (many people was infected and died in the city and everywhere where infected pilgrim passed) and that main plot is stucked in hospital.

Anyway, one of the best and creepiest movies I ever seen with several moments that will stuck in your memory for a long time.