Love Affair, or The Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

100%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 9

73%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 321
User image

Tap to review this movie

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Rate this movie

    Oof, that was Rotten.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    It’s good – I’d recommend it.

    Awesome!

    So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

    What did you think of the movie? (optional)

  • You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Step 2 of 2

    How did you get your ticket?

    • Fandango

    • AMC (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Cinemark (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Bought somewhere else

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

    You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

  • User image

    Super Reviewer

    Rate this movie

    Oof, that was Rotten.

    Meh, it passed the time.

    It’s good – I’d recommend it.

    Awesome!

    So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

    What did you think of the movie? (optional)

  • How did you get your ticket?

    • Fandango

    • AMC (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Cinemark (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Regal (Coming Soon)

      We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

    • Bought somewhere else

    By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

Love Affair, or The Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator Photos

View All Photos (1)

Movie Info

This tragicomedy is the second feature for Dusan Makavejev, the most celebrated Yugoslavian director of the 1960s. Included in this montage of stories is an erotic love scene, a strudel recipe, rat catching, and a graphic autopsy of a female victim. The plot concerns a love affair between a switchboard operator and a rat catcher. In most of his films, Makavejev takes a decidedly anti-Stalinist stance and champions the causes of individual political and sexual freedom. The director claims that style is not as important, as any kind of feature can tell the story. One of his favorite tools is using the element of psychological surprise. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Cast

Eva Ras
as Isabela
Slobodan Aligrudic
as Ahmed
Ruzica Sokic
as Ruza Isabela's Friend
Miodrag Andric
Aleksander Kostic
Zivojin Aleksic
Dr. Alexsandar Kostic
Dr. Zivojin Aleksic
View All

Critic Reviews for Love Affair, or The Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator

All Critics (9) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (9)

  • You have to be the victim of a certain state of mind to appreciate the humor and truth of Makavejev.

    November 6, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

    Roger Ebert

    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic

  • Given that four of Makavejev's first five features are essentially the same film, it seems increasingly unlikely that he'll ever improve on this, his second movie, the most interesting and concentrated treatment of his recurrent themes.

    February 9, 2006 | Full Review…
    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • This is a charming picture, a subtle and sophisticated spoof of organized social education and of the modern-day sex comedy, right up to the point where it goes mawkish and turns into a melodramatic brawl over a pregnancy.

    May 21, 2005 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Bosley Crowther

    New York Times
    Top Critic

  • It's very funny and, with its ragged arrangement of warring styles and ideologies, very original: it's like a smutty, sticky-fingered Godard.

    May 21, 2005 | Full Review…

    Dave Kehr

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • Celebrates the force of sexuality even as it clashes, tragically, with traditional ideology

    September 25, 2009 | Full Review…

    Fernando F. Croce

    CinePassion

  • A tender, sweet, and ultimately very sad film.

    November 6, 2007 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
    TV Guide
View All Critic Reviews (9)

Audience Reviews for Love Affair, or The Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator

  • Oct 14, 2011
    This early Dusan Makavejev film is short on budget and acting talent, but is an interesting pointer to the director's later works. Typically, its tone is wildly eclectic -- the narrative breaks up a doomed tale of misfit romance with academic talk from a sexologist, a cooking segment, the history of the grey rat, satirical nods to propaganda film (patriotic marches everywhere) and a daring amount of nudity. There's also a crucial sex scene that's inexplicably symbolized via sort of a rotating tableau vivant that looks borrowed from a surrealist silent. And all this happens within a brisk 70 minutes. Despite the dour plot, Makavejev's gleefully anarchic style creates a mood that's more droll than sad. Cineastes will appreciate his unique quirks, but viewers expecting a character study may complain that the director's whims undercut the story's emotional pull.
    Eric B Super Reviewer
  • Feb 09, 2011
    "Love Affair, or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator" opens with Dr. Aleksandr DJ Kostic extolling the virtues of a healthy sex life. That's a path that best friends Izabela(Eva Ras) and Ruza(Ruzica Sokic) pursue enthusiastically while escaping from their dreary jobs. During their socializing, Izabela hooks up with Ahmed(Slobodan Aligrudic). If for no other reason than to act as buzzkill, along comes Dr. Zivojin L. Aleksic, a criminologist, to narrate an episode of "CSI: Belgrade," as the police retrieve Izabela's body, three months pregnant, from the sewers. Therefore, it would seem that life is short, so don't take anything for granted. But that's what the Communist government of Yugoslavia did, even if their time does not come for another couple of decades. But at this point, patriotic songs play everywhere, somewhat ironically.(This might be the first time anybody has ever gotten sexually excited watching a propaganda film but it is anti-clerical, which does make a weird sort of sense.) That's not the only part of the film that is dated, as some of the movie's once daring elements such as interracial relationships(Izabela is Hungarian while Ahmed is Turkish), premarital sex and nudity(although some people still do have a problem with this) are now wonderfully quaint.
    Walter M Super Reviewer
See all Audience reviews

Love Affair, or The Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator Quotes

There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.

Movie & TV guides