Summaries

Piano teacher is deeply traumatised by the events of his childhood, as well as by political oppression in his youth. Decades later, all those traumas lead to carnage.

Déjà vu concerns a troubled piano teacher, Mihailo (Mustafa Nadarevic), and his efforts to come to terms with reality through a love affair with a poor but industrious girl, Olgica (Anica Dobra). When she dumps him for a younger boyfriend (hoping to make a political career in the Communist Youth organization), Mihailo is overrun by the ghosts of his past and begins a killing spree. Flashbacks which explain the killer's motivation are intrinsic to the film's central idea. The apparent contrast between the past and the present becomes a parallel, thanks to the clever transitions between shots. Mihailo becomes unable to distinguish the 'reflections' of the past upon his own present, and is thus driven over the edge.—Ghoul

Details

Keywords
  • female nudity
  • nudity
  • teacher
  • killing an animal
  • murder of a nude woman
Genres
  • Thriller
  • Horror
  • Drama
  • Romance
Release date Feb 6, 1987
Countries of origin United Kingdom Yugoslavia
Language Serbo-Croatian Esperanto
Production companies Avala Film Art Film 80 Croatia Film

Box office

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 42m
Color Color
Sound mix Mono
Aspect ratio

Synopsis

_Déjà Vu_ concerns a troubled piano teacher, Mihailo (Mustafa Nadarevic), and his efforts to come to terms with reality through a love affair with a poor but industrious girl, Olgica (Anica Dobra). When she dumps him for a younger boyfriend (hoping to make a political career in the Communist Youth organization), Mihailo is overrun by the ghosts of his past and begins a killing spree. Flashbacks which explain the killer's motivation are intrinsic to the film's central idea. The apparent contrast between the past and the present becomes a parallel, thanks to the clever transitions between shots. Mihailo becomes unable to distinguish the 'reflections' of the past upon his own present, and is thus driven over the edge.

This is the only Serbian horror film to be included in the second edition of Phil Hardy's Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror (1994). It is also the only Serbian horror film included among 100 EUROPEAN HORROR FILMS in the eponymous book published by BFI and edited by Steven Jay Schneider.

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