One of the two movies ever that made me cry

Rating: 10/10 (29 October 2004)

The scene when after all the pain and suffering the stuttering younger brother finally finds his old ape friend is the most poignant scene in all movie history. I am fully aware that that statement might be interpreted as national bias, but it isn't.
What can be said about this movie that hasn't been said already? That a young upstart Balkan nation gambled away the only chance it ever had after WWI of creating a peaceful, stable, safe and prosperous state, opting instead for a "Yugoslavia". That cowards and opportunists always ruled the show over decent people. That these decent people were always great heroes when it came time to fight the enemies from without, but legendary cowards and naive sheep when it came time to fight the enemy within own ranks. That a bunch of criminals ruled a communist Yugoslavia for 45 years, keeping everyone in he dark as to what was actually happening in the world. That when the cat finally came out of the bag, the people in the basement proved catastrophically inept at handling the new situation and that that only leads to more pain and suffering. And all of it, the pain, the humiliation, the bitterness, comes down to, boils into, condenses itself into that one scene where the two old friends meet. And one young lad at that time lacking the luxury of living in a normal country opened his floodgates.
There is so much to take in while watching the movie. It is nothing short of a complete history of a deceased nation of brotherhood and unity, all of it told in an allegorical style. All of which I have described in the previous chapter. The music and visual style of the movie is breathtaking. There is not a second of the movie that is not entertaining or engaging. Not a second that is not significant or out of place. And the movie is full of life, for whatever happens, life goes on. With every pain there is joy and vice versa.
But this life is decidedly underscored by the forces of death and evil. The full extent of betrayal becomes apparent towards the end, initially being painted with naive humor. In this betrayal an entire country ad an entire people were sacrificed. The only thing that is left is memory. Memory of those one has lost during the dark years of Nazi invasion, the dark years of communism and the dark years of the recent wars. Memory of a past time, with its own rules, characters and experiences. One which humanity must never forget.
Rating 10/10
Scale: 10 MASTERPIECE, 9 Excellent, 8 Good, 7 OK, 6 Adequate, 5 Average, 4 Mediocre, 3 Poor, 2 Bad, 1 HORRIBLE