User Reviews

Best domestic series in the last two decades. Unmatched in every aspect of it. Great cast and great production above all else. I love them.

"Otvorena Vrata" was the first Serbian attempt to do something completely fresh and different, compared to other TV series, which were more like soap operas. For the very first time, Serbian TV produced an authentic sitcom. It was a risky move, but it payed off. The concept with live audience would be way too much for Serbian TV standards, but at the end, it wasn't necessary at all. Here's what makes this TV series so great. First of all, plot is great. Single mother, Katarina is a sophisticated artist, who does sculptures and other post-modern gizmos. She lives in a rather fancy flat with her brother Svetislav, a guy who could easily be compared to Del Boy from "OFAH". He is always into business, trying to make some money and get rich. Note the specific situation in Yugoslavia back then (hyper-inflation, embargo,...). Then, there is Milica, Katarina's daughter obsessed with politics, philosophy and sociology. The smartest character of them all, with sophisticated sense of humor. Katarina's older child, and Milica's brother, Vojkan, is nice bloke, always willing to help his uncle Svetislav, but with one remarkable "quality": he is a hypochondriac. Then, there's Ana, Svetislav's daughter. Her mother was Svetislav's high school flame, and Ana spent her childhood in USA. She is wild and restless girl, a bit "rough around the edges", crazy about motorcycles. Deep down, she's a "softy". There are three more characters that should be mentioned: Katarina's ex-husband, Dragoslav, a not-so-successful-businessman trying to make a dime, then, their next-door neighbor, Mrs. Angelina, retired professor of solo and music, and at the end, another neighbor, Ugrinovic, an alpinist, who spends his time by hanging on the wall of the building and who is in love with Katarina. This TV show was a huge success back then. Unfortunately, there was no sequel. However, this proved to be the best Serbian TV series ever. I hope that it will be soon released on DVD, because it would be a shame not to have this master-piece in digital format.

Most beloved series ever. All the actors, all the episodes, all these years, the sequel, everything is legendary.

the biggest problem of the series 'otvorena vrata' i.e. 'open doors' is that it's not made in English.

It is unique staff unlike anything I've ever seen. You'll get in the life of average (little above the average) Serbian family in 90's if you watch the series 'otvorena vrata'. The most intimate moments presented with unique dose of humor and satire will come to you. I believe no one would regret the meeting with the sophisticated humor represented in the series.

Believe me, even the strongest English satiric humor is nothing compared to the dose of satire represented in the 'Otvorena vrata'.

Exactly 25 years have passed since the broadcasting of the first part of this cult series. And this is still the best series ever recorded. All authors and actors, along with producers, have entered the history of television and nothing will move them.

"Otvorena Vrata" remains a key benchmark in Serbian television up to this day. With the script, direction, photography and acting it was way ahead of it's time, and in many ways still is.

It was a daring attempt to make a series like "Otvorena Vrata" or "Open Doors" in the mid 90s Serbia. The country was at war under heavy sanctions and crisis, with an absolutist regime controlling the media. Still, the series did find it's place on state television in prime time Saturday night. I'm still not clear how that happened, but it made me satisfied non the less.

The plot revolves around an eccentric urban family and their neighbors and friends, all weird and quite specific in their own way. The family center is the character of Katarina Andjelic, a conceptual artist and her close family - Sofija, a know-it-all politics obsessed daughter and Vojkan, a hypochondriac teenage son. Also Katarina's brother Bata, a make belief businessman, his petrol-head daughter Ana, Dragoslav, the ex husband which always sneaks around, and many others.

In it's time, "Otvorena Vrata" was widely criticized and even hated by the rural population since the story and dialect are strictly based on urban Belgrade customs and legends. On the other hand, the city population, me included, loved the series precisely for that urban spirit. Although it was made and shown during the strongest Milosevic era, it often criticized and the regime in a distinctive manner.

"Otvorena Vrata" remains a unique TV creation up to this day, and as the time passes, it seems it will keep the undisputed first place for ages to come. Serbian television has thundered down in quality during the last decade, and while in 1994. we had "Otvorena Vrata", these days weekend nights are reserved for "Selo gori...", "Rodjak sa sela", "Bela ladja" and other for intelligence insulting contents.

In this week of Corona Quarantine, I watched my favorite series, again. It seems to me that this is the 100th anniversary viewing. This is still our best series of all time. Amazingly, the years have not changed all these fantastic characters and situations. The series I grew up on is still a test of intelligence and creativity for many viewers and authors. 10/10 of course

Simply the best forever. Cakana, Bata, Ana, Voja, Milica, Dragance, Ugrinovic .... are an integral part of my childhood.

I just don't gate all the love this mediocre sitcom gets. Apart from great cast (even slightly anoying Milica) I see nothing else that stands out. Plots are thin, some are outright stupid : The Kennedy assasination episode is just wtf, The stuff when old men visits, all episodes with Brstina's character, all the episodes with guys dressed as blues brothers (I don't recall how many are there) and planty other stuff that often borders on absurd. Jokes are not funny . I watched it when it premiered and never again, so to remind my self I watched some clips on YouTube and I found nothing. In example the waterproof watch joke when Zuca wants to kill himself is supposed to be funny? Maybe in kindergarten, I was in Junior High at that time I didn't find it funny then and don't now. Further more the way Zuca speaks is also some how funny? Nobody ever spoke Serbian like that. That slang is non-existent. Who wrote those lines? Who directed Dragan Jovanovic to act like this? Brstina also, over affected, nonsense jiberish without a point. Why? The whole thing feels like Beckett meats Dali meats sitcom and result is just boring. Other reviewers act like the sole making of this nonsense was somehow miracle, but I don't see why. It doesn't stands for anything, it didn't criticize anything, it was relatively cheap to make (they were praising camera work, I don't see why, nothing revolutionary there). Under the same regime Rane and Lepa Sela got made, now that ware miracles. I feel like others are watching this through pink glasses of nostalgia, but for me nothing in this series stands the test of time. What's more insulting is that this has higher rating then Vruc vetar, a truly classic show whose cast is arguably better (I am sorry but no way in hell are Trivalic, Cvijanovic, Djuricko and actress that plays Milica better then Samardzic, Todorovic, Zivkovic and Ckalja), whose plots and characters are top notch, whose lines are widely remembered and quoted and whose reruns still attract millions of viewers. And no I am not a rural audience member. I wasn't then and I am not now. I didn't watch season 3 and 4 filmed 20 years after so this review is about the two original seasons.

Since beginning of Yugoslav television, comedy programs about contemporary society mostly relied on depicting "ordinary man", and trying to make the audience identify with the main characters. Whole bunch of both movies and series have been reaching extreme popularity among Yugoslav audience, a new and optimistic middle class in Tito's self-managed society: titles such as "Lude godine", "Tesna koža", "Pozorište u kući", "Bolji život" etc. all revolved around "small man" and his adventures in everyday environment.

On the contrary, "Otvorena vrata" completely threw away this cliché, and built a story (in fact, many stories, as each episode is for itself) around completely made-up and exaggerated characters. Placed in highly urban and intellectual milieu, the show refused to indulge mass audiences, and it is not clear how it got financed and aired under such hard circumstances as Milosevic's dictatorship was.

Fast paced, intellectually challenging, but most of the times really hilarious, the show is gaining the deserved acclaim just recently, after several reruns and with a help of Youtube, which is full of funny clips with memorable quotes.

Also, apart from brilliant screen writing (mostly by prized playwright Biljana Srbljanovic), the cast is what really makes it timeless, with top-of-the-line leads, notably Vesna Trivalic and Bogdan Diklic. The only one spoiling the picture is Bojana Maljevic, but luckily not given any important role.

Have you ever seen a family like this: - slightly neurotic mother - father who cheats the mother - male child who is sick all the time - daughter philosopher - uncle who is always afraid of something - uncle's daughter, a freaky teenage girl - many strange and twisted neighbors? If you haven't, my suggestion is to watch "Otvorena vrata". "Otvorena vrata" aka "Opened door" is probably the best Serbian TV-series ever. Althoug all the scenes were taken in one apartment, all of them are authentic and realistic. Wonderful screenplay, great characters and best acting (Vesna Trivalic, Bogdan Diklic, Bojana Maljevic, Olivera Markovic, Milan Gutovic, Vlasta Velisavljevic, and many others) made of this one great series. Unfortunately, it had been shown only a couple of times, so the spectators couldn't see how good it it. I hope some day there will be some reprises! Well, watch it and you will see how good it is!!!!! You will laugh as much as I did!