Biyografi Dünyası
Cirkus Columbia

Cirkus Columbia

Movie · 2010 · 4 people

Bosnian director Danis Tanović made Cirkus Columbia in 2010, a drama-comedy co-produced by Bosnia and Herzegovina and France. It reached Turkish cinemas on 7 January 2011 as Güzel Bir Hayat Düşlerken. It adapts the novel of the same name by the Bosnian Croat writer Ivica Đikić, and Tanović wrote the script with him. After first screening in Toronto, it played at the 67th Venice Film Festival and opened the 2011 Trieste Film Festival, took the audience award at Sarajevo and won Best Film at the 2010 Antalya Golden Orange festival. It was Bosnia and Herzegovina's entry for the foreign-language Oscar but missed the final shortlist.

The story is set in Herzegovina after the break-up of Yugoslavia, shortly before the war. Divko Buntić comes home after twenty years of exile in Germany with a young girlfriend, a brand-new Mercedes, plenty of money and a black cat he believes brings luck. When the cat vanishes, things unravel: trouble with the girlfriend, a strained bond with his estranged son, and a whole town hunting for the cat to claim a reward. As war nears, Divko must decide whether to stay in his newly restored house or leave. Miki Manojlović (as Divko), Mira Furlan, Boris Ler and Jelena Stupljanin lead the cast.

DirectorDanis Tanović
Cirkus Columbia Cirkus Columbia

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Cast

Only cast members with a profile on this site are listed.

Ermin Bravo Ermin Bravo Actor · 46 years old Izudin Bajrović Izudin Bajrović Actor · 63 years old Jasna Beri Actor · 72 years old Mira Furlan Mira Furlan Actor · died at 65

Titles sharing this cast

More from this director

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

In Cirkus Columbia, Danis Tanović does not show the war directly; he places its approaching shadow inside the everyday bustle of a small town. A whole town chasing a lost cat is a cleverly chosen centre for a tone that swings between the absurd and the tragic. The screenplay, co-written with Ivica Đikić, gathers the story around Divko's return, and Miki Manojlović is an actor who can carry both the swagger and the fragility of that homecoming. The shifts between drama and comedy are not always smooth, though; across 113 minutes, the side threads involving the girlfriend and the son can at times dilute the central tension. Still, Best Film at Antalya and the audience award in Sarajevo show that the balance won over many viewers.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Cirkus Columbia is set in Herzegovina after the break-up of Yugoslavia, right on the brink of war, and that timing casts a shadow over every scene. Divko, returning from twenty years of exile in Germany with a brand-new Mercedes and plenty of money, is a familiar regional figure: someone eager to show at home what he earned abroad, yet with weakened ties to those he left behind. His strained relationship with an estranged son is a plain observation of the marks migration leaves on families. The whole town chasing a lost cat for a reward reminds us that a community can stay busy with everyday calculations even on the edge of collapse. The theme of the emigrant's return will feel familiar to Turkish viewers too.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

A film set on the brink of war made me expect tension, but Cirkus Columbia goes another way: a gently flowing drama-comedy about a town hunting for a lost cat. The war mostly sits on the horizon as a threat. For 113 minutes family and relationship matters take centre stage, which makes for a long sit if you are after pace. If you like slow, character-driven films, try it; just not for action.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

Reviews (0)

Log in Log in to write a review.

Comments