Underground
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Movie Reviews of Underground
Movie Review: Underground
Summary: 4 Stars
Great humorous take on the history of Yugoslavia. Hilarious lead characters Marko and Blackie.Movie Review: huh?
Summary: 2 Stars
More is more, eh? Seriously, I'm very open-minded, but the constant circus-like atmosphere just got on my nerves. Kinda reminded me of "Delicatessan" which I also hated. My girlfriend glowingly recommended this film. I just couldn't get into it. I prefer Bresson.Movie Review: A haunting tale of Yugoslavia's peak and breakup through magical realism
Summary: 5 Stars
Emir Kusturica's 1995 film "Podzemlje" (Underground) represents the rise and disintegration of Yugoslavia through magical realism. Marko (played by Predrag Manojlovic) and his best friend Petar, nicknamed Blacky (Lazar Ristovski), are idealistic enough to join the Communists but still while away their days drinking and carousing. As the film opens, they are returning home quite drunk, riding through the whole city with an entire brass band in tow. This boisterousness and joie de vivre, one of the charms of Balkan countries, returns many times throughout the film.
But when Nazi Germany invades Belgrade, joy is mixed with sorrow and heartwarming friendship with deception. Blacky becomes a wanted man, and Marko convinces him and other civilians to go underground, into a shelter fashioned from an old cellar. In order to have Blacky's wife Natalija (Mirjana Jokovic) to himself, Marko keeps up the illusion that the war is on for twenty years. A whole generation grows up in the cellar, while outside Tito rules a peaceful Yugoslavia. When in 1960s the inhabitants decide to leave the cellar and fight against the Germans they still think occupy their city, tragedy ensues.
The film could have ended there, and no doubt those who watch it without enough knowledge of Balkan history will probably wish it did. Nonetheless, what comes next is the most poignant part of all. Marko, Natalija, and Blacky meet one last time in a Bosnian war zone in 1992. It is Kusturica's howl of pain that what was once a single country has brothers killing brothers. Indeed, the film was originally subtitled "Once Upon a Time There Was a Country". And the ending is skillfully done, touching upon ancient themes of European folklore and providing true and inspiring closure after all of the story's violence.
Kusturica uses what were then novel special effects, putting Marko and Natalija into historical footage of like in FORREST GUMP. Every scene is authentically portrayed, with no feeling that the budget was an issue. Goran Bregovic's soundtrack for the film has a permanent place on my iPod and that of half of my friends. He ties together Balkan Gypsy traditions, the music of the Shopluk/Shopsko region divided between Serbia and Bulgaria (hauntingly sung by Snejanka Borissova), and old Slavic wistfulness.
I imagine that this film is not for everyone. I first encountered the film while living in Romania, where its atmosphere was immediately familiar to viewers. Average Americans watching it, on the other hand, might find the film confusing and strange because they don't know the details of Yugoslavian history and have no direct experience with Balkan society. Nonetheless, it is an excellent production, which will stay with those viewers who "got" it long after its close.
Movie Review: Over-the-top
Summary: 3 Stars
Although I never "got" this movie, Underground is a unique and strange movie experience. It seems likely that it conveys aspects of Balkan culture, especially through the music. It is occasionally hilarious. It has great energy, and ends well. So I can see part of Underground's appeal.
Even so, I found the humor, irony and satire in Underground to be so over-the-top that much of the movie just seemed silly, and therefore also seemed much too long. There is no mention of the racial divisions that so decimated Yugoslavia in the 90s. And I've seen movies about the region I liked much better, especially Beautiful People by Jasmin Dizdar, and also No Man's Land by Danis Tanovic. It is clear that many people really love Underground: perhaps they really love quirky movies, or have a deeper knowledge or better perspective of the former Yugoslavia. My knowledge of the region is probably typical of Americans; as such, I recommend one of the other movies suggested above.
Movie Review: Incredible
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is one of the most profound things I've ever seen. It is tragic, hunorous, touching, thought-provoking, all-together crushing. It's almost impossible to put into words. It has a surreal, fiercely imagined landscape of oddball characters who struggle against themselves and the horrors of their country. It's philosophical and magnificent. A shame it wasn't released in the states. It raises many deep questions about the human condition and about human behavior. You will not be disappointed.