Danube Demagogue

A magnetic Serbian dissident mixes ego and aura

The hottest ticket in Belgrade is for a movie called Knife, a dramatic slice of the Yugoslav national theme--ethnic anguish. Serbs are packing theaters to see it for another reason as well. It is based on a novel by Vuk Draskovic, who for years has been dramatic himself in public life as a journalist, dissident and rival to President Slobodan Milosevic. The film's plot concerns a young man brought up by a Muslim woman. Muslim boy meets Serbian girl; boy loses girl because both families object. Later, he discovers he is a Serb. The message, says Draskovic: "All of us are...

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