Written by: Olivera Tolimir
Welcome to the second edition of Learning Serbian with Popocorn!
If you like our first blog post about six famous Serbian movie quotes, prepare to be thrilled! We’re bringing you the five new (well, maybe not so new in terms of the movie release dates) quotes!
Some sentences are from the movies we’ve already mentioned. Don’t hold it against us – these movies are true Serbian classics. Therefore, we can find at least seven ultra-popular quotes in each of them. It’s hard to choose!
Since Valentine’s Day is approaching, we included some flirty quotes this time. We guarantee they’re quite different than your usual pick-up lines!
But let’s start with the non-romantic classics.
–Ala ga je opravio, svaka mu čast!
Maratonci trče počasni krug (The Marathon Family)
The Marathon Family is one of the films we’ve mentioned in our previous blog post Learning Serbian with Popcorn. You can learn more about the movie here.
This particular quote means He fixed it real nice, well done!
It sounds like a regular sentence for praising someone’s work.
Of course, it’s not.
In the movie, it’s used ironically in a bizarre situation: Aksentije Topalovic (one of the older members of the 6-generation family) almost has a heart attack while announcing his 120-year-old father Maksimilijan burnt down a man!
He didn’t do it on purpose, though.
Since the Topalovic family’s business is a funeral company, they also had a crematorium that wasn’t working properly. The burnt guy was fixing it and asked the old man to hand him pliers. Being 120 years old, Maksimilijan didn’t hear him correctly, so instead of passing over pliers, he pulled a handle for burning everyone in the crematorium.
We use the quote Ala je opravio, svaka mu čast when someone fails miserably in their attempt to repair something. It’s always used ironically (or even sarcastically).
Just to remind you: this movie is made on the book by Dusan Kovacevic. Reading his plays can be very useful for learning Serbian!
–I tata bi, sine!
Ko to tamo peva? (Who’s Singin’ Over There?)
Ko to tamo peva is another movie we’ve already mentioned in the previous blog post about learning Serbian for movie enthusiasts. You can find more information about the film here.
The quote I tata bi, sine is translated as Dad would like it, too, son!
The scene is not really… Let’s just say: it’s not recommended for learning Serbian with kids, since there’s a bit explicit love scene between the newlywed pair in the forest.
Since the movie is about a group of people traveling together by an old, it-will-break-down-each-second bus, this love situation attracts other passengers’ attention. Bear in mind the story takes place in 1941 when you couldn’t see half-naked people on each corner. So, probably no one would politely turn their head to the other side and walk away when encountering something similar.
At one point, the bus driver, an inexperienced, probably around 18 years old boy, is so fascinated that he says he wants to try that. To which his father (the bus owner) replies, I tata bi, sine.
The quote lives to this day very vividly. We use it whenever someone wants something that seems unreachable. Attempting to show how everyone wants the same thing, but they’re going over the top by talking like it’s realistic to have it, it’s common to say, I tata bi, sine.
Now, you’ve learned two famous Serbian movie quotes used in everyday communication. Let’s get to learning Serbian flirting movie quotes!
The most precious declarations of love come from the movie Lajanje na zvezde.
We’ll introduce the movie and list some of its beloved quotes.
Lajanje na zvezde (Barking at the Stars)
It’s a 1998 film directed by Zdravko Sotra. The movie tells a story about the graduating high school class IV-2. It’s told as a flashback – a married couple sends their son off to the prom and remembers their last high school days.
Her name is Danica, and his nickname is Philosopher. You can guess – he’s quite smart. They were in the same class, and Philosopher was trying to win Danica’s heart in all ways possible since he was desperately in love with her. Thus, the movie is full of his creative and romantic declarations. At first, she keeps rejecting him but eventually falls for his sweet and intellectual personality.
Lajanje na zvezde is a beautiful family movie. It’s especially emotional for high school students who can always find themselves and their teachers in some of the characters of the IV-2 class. And it’s great for learning Serbian since there aren’t any bad words or phrases that could be considered rude. Also, learning Serbian can’t go without learning at least one of Philosopher’s flirty lines, trust us!
Here come the best ones.
–Kako Tanjug javlja, ja te volim.
The translation of this sentence is As Tanjug reports, I love you.
Tanjug was a Serbian state news agency. These are the words Philosopher used to declare love to Danica. First, he seriously asked if she had heard the news, and when she asked in confusion what it was about, he fired this gold!
Of course, she smiled and kissed him after. What else could a girl do when his love for her is so great that even the state news agency informs about it?!
–Doći će do sudara svetova.
We shortened this one for the subtitle, but to understand the right meaning, you need to know the whole dialogue.
As we mentioned, Danica wasn’t in love with Philosopher at first, so she tried to explain to him they were not for each other:
Danica: Filozofe, mi smo dva sveta. (Philosopher, we’re two (different) worlds.)
Filozof: A, ti nisi čula? (Oh, you haven’t heard?)
Danica: Šta? (What?)
Filozof: Doći će do sudara svetova. (There will be a collision of worlds.)
Did we mention he was pretty smart?
–Jesmo se mi već negde sreli?
This quotation means, Have we met before?
We know what you think – Well, this one is a cliche!
But it’s not! Wait to see the whole dialogue again.
Filozof: Jesmo se mi već negde sreli? (Have we met before?)
Danica: Ne, ja Vas vidim prvi put. (No, I see you for the first time.)
Filozof: O, hvala bogu, ja verujem samo u ljubav na prvi pogled! (Oh, thank God, I only believe in the love at first sight!)
Well played, Philosopher! The first sentence would be cheesy if they were to meet for the first time. But remember, they went to high school together (and even knew each other from childhood). So, they were both playful in this one!
Would you ever try one of Philosopher’s pick-up lines? If his ideas are too extra for you, you can try some classic Serbian flirting lines this Valentine’s Day. Check them out here!
