The Allies then destroyed anything the Germans had left standing

Rating: 10/10 (21 March 2010)

This is probably the first film I watch coming from this region of the world(so I can't compare this to anything else coming from there), and I would definitely say that you need to have at least a basic understanding of the muddled, complex history of what went on there from World War 2 and the next 40 years(until when this was made, or just about; that's a lot of time to cover in less than three hours) to fully appreciate this. I'm not sure I agree with the message, and I'll be perfectly honest with you; I didn't love this. However, I can be objective enough to acknowledge that it is a bizarre cinematic masterpiece, with impeccable satire and commentary on politics. There are countless of unforgettable, surreal images, and this thrives on absurdity. People in this often behave like they might if this was a cartoon, making goofy faces, overacting, and just generally being obnoxious stereotypes. I can't claim I found any characters to particularly care about(which is not to say that I never sympathized with them), or to be all that developed. That can make the 164 minute running time be a little trying. This seems like it's partially a throwback to slapstick comedies, with all its pratfall gags and silly jokes. There is black material, as well, not to mention male chauvinism. There is what at times feels like constant party music, and a ton of sexy dancing. I don't know, maybe it's a cultural thing. This is clearly not meant to be taken literally, and you should not expect this to play like a documentary. My subtitles barely translated a word or two of the plentiful singing, so I don't know how much I missed on account of that. There are long and sensual scenes(some of them including female nudity), a bit of disturbing content and occasional violence in this. The DVD comes with a 3 minute Cannes interview, a minute and a half of B-roll and a trailer. I recommend this to anyone who can imagine they'd like this. 10/10