Character Relationship Map: Father

Characters

• Nikola (played by Goran Bogdan) — protagonist

  Nikola is the central protagonist, a father fighting to regain custody of his children after social services place them in foster care. He rejects advice to flee, walks nearly 300 kilometers to Belgra...

• Miloš (played by Muharem Hamzić) — supporting

  Miloš is Nikola's son, one of the children removed from the family home and placed temporarily with foster carers. The authorities cite his stuttering and the parents' failure to take him to a speech...

• Biljana (played by Nada Šargin) — supporting

  Biljana is a parent in Nikola's family whose desperate protest triggers the custody crisis. Carrying petrol, she threatens to set herself and the children on fire unless Nikola receives unpaid wages a...

• Porter in the ministry (played by Ljubomir Bandović) — minor

  The porter in the ministry is a minor institutional figure who confronts Nikola when he tries to submit his appeal directly to the Minister. He tells Nikola to use the clerk's office and leave the bui...

• Porter at the factory (played by Mirko Vlahović) — minor

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Nikola → Porter in the ministry (Power Gatekeeper) — The ministry porter controls Nikola's access to officials and becomes an immediate institutional obstacle.

  At the Ministry, the porter tells Nikola to use the clerk's office and leave the building, while Nikola insists on waiting until someone hears him.

• Nikola → Porter at the factory (Professional Workplace Intermediary) — The factory porter is connected to the workplace confrontation surrounding Nikola's unpaid employment claims.

  Biljana's protest concerns unpaid wages and severance owed to Nikola at the employer's premises, where the protest is stopped.

• Nikola → Biljana (Family Co-parent) — Nikola and Biljana are jointly responsible for the children and face the social services investigation together.

  The authorities refer to Nikola and Biljana together as parents and assess their shared home and care of the children.

• Biljana → Miloš (Family Mother) — Biljana is presented as Miloš's mother and a distressed parent.

  Biljana protests for Nikola to receive money owed to him, while the authorities investigate the couple's ability to raise their children, including Mi...

• Nikola → Miloš (Family Father) — Nikola is Miloš's father and seeks to regain care of him.

  The authorities discuss Nikola's failure to take his son Miloš to a speech therapist after Miloš began stuttering.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Biljana → Porter at the factory (Conflict Opposed Protester) — Biljana's protest is blocked at the workplace premises.

  Biljana arrives at the employer's premises with petrol and threatens to set herself and her children on fire; the desperate protest is stopped.

Story Analysis

Nikola confronts poverty and institutional barriers while trying to regain contact with his children.

Plot Progression

1. Petrol at the Workplace — Biljana stages a desperate petrol protest over Nikola's unpaid wages and severance pay. The protest is stopped, and the children enter temporary foster care.
2. Judgment of the Home — Nikola is questioned after Biljana's hospitalization. Social services focus on the family's poor living conditions and alleged failures in medical and educational care.
3. The Hunger Strike — The Centre rules that Nikola cannot provide adequate care and keeps the children in foster care. Nikola responds with a hunger strike and prepares an appeal.
4. Three Hundred Kilometers — Nikola walks toward Belgrade because he cannot afford transportation. He rejects advice to flee across the border, collapses on the road, and receives help from strangers.
5. A Nonbinding Hope — Nikola reaches the Ministry and waits outside after being denied direct access to the Minister. A recommendation supports review, but the local Centre says it is not binding and leaves his struggle un...