Montenegro (film)

Montenegro also known as Montenegro – Or Pigs and Pearls (Swedish: Montenegro eller Pärlor och svin) is a 1981 Swedish black comedy film by Serbian director Dušan Makavejev.

Montenegro
Directed byDušan Makavejev
Produced byChrister Abrahamsen
Bo Jonsson
George Zecevic
Written byDušan Makavejev
Branko Vucicevic
StarringSusan Anspach
Erland Josephson
Marianna Jacobi
Jamie Marsh
John Zacharias
Bora Todorović
Per Oscarsson
Svetozar Cvetković
Music byKornell Kovach
CinematographyTomislav Pinter
Edited bySylvia Ingemarsson
Release date
  • 1981 (1981)
Running time
96 min
CountrySweden
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Marilyn Jordan is a bored, depressed American housewife, married to a rich Swedish businessman with two seemingly perfect children. She tries to "spice up" her existence by surprising the family when she eats their entire dinner, setting the bedclothes on fire and poisoning the pet dog's milk and then advising it not to drink (the dog does not drink). Eventually Martin, Marilyn's husband, decides to have a psychiatrist see her, but it only serves to provoke her behaviour, and further exacerbate her frustration.

One day, Marilyn decides to accompany her husband on a business trip, but she gets detained by airport security on a technicality.

After missing her plane, Marilyn is befriended by a group of Yugoslavs, and is taken to a club they run, bearing the odd name of 'Zanzi-Bar'. Marilyn indulges in their fantastic, surreal world of shovel fighting, lamb roasting, striptease and free love. It all culminates with Marilyn having a passionate fling with a young man named Montenegro who works in a zoo.

After spending the night with Montenegro, Marilyn realizes that even though she adores this world, she is a stranger in it. Completely snapping upon this realization, she kills the young man and returns home.

Once back home, Marilyn serves her family a sumptuous gourmet dinner, followed by a light dessert of fruit – which a caption announces is poisoned. The final intertitle states; "the story was based on real events".

Cast
  • Susan Anspach - Marilyn
  • Erland Josephson - Martin Jordan
  • Marianna Jacobi - Cookie Jordan
  • Jamie Marsh - Jimmy Jordan
  • John Zacharias - Grandpa Bill
  • Per Oscarsson - Dr. Aram Pazardjian
  • Marina Lindahl - Secretary
  • Bora Todorović - Alex Rossignol
  • Lisbeth Zachrisson - Rita Rossignol
  • Svetozar Cvetković - Montenegro
  • Patricia Gélin - Tirke
  • Dragan Ilić - Hassan
  • Nikola Janić - Mustapha
  • Mile Petrović - Zanzi Bar Customer
  • John Parkinson - Piano Player

Awards and nominations

Montenegro was nominated for the Golden Palm Award at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival;[1] it gained Audience Award and Mostra Special Award at São Paulo International Film Festival

Music

Marianne Faithfull sings "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" over the opening credit sequence

References
  1. "Festival de Cannes: Montenegro". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
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