The Balkans in us

Rating: 10/10 (1 September 2001)

'The Underground' deals with people's corruption, blindness of the followers (all of us are followers, so don't feel excepted), mentality of people from the Balkans, put in scene through perfect characters (played by perfect actors)... All that at a time of war, later socialism and finally destruction of post WWII socialist ideals.
In fact, the first version of 'The Underground' I saw, was the 5 hour-long marathon version. After some months I came to see the shorter cinema version. Which ever version you come along don't miss to watch it, you will know why after you have seen it. It is still influencing my judging of other movies.
It is a masterpiece of Kusturica's surrealism, just remember the scene after the first nazi bombing of Belgrade, when animals of the zoo run freely on the streets.. Or the underground system.. Remember the electric shocks, the making of the war movie..
Most of the scenes are just perfect as well as the scenario. Perhaps you need to be somehow connected to the Balkans to understand scenes like the one when Lazar Ristovski asks the gipsy musicians to follow him as he goes to the toilette.
The complaints that the movie is too political are perhaps true, but only for people who don't know anything about socialism or Europe. It surely represents a landmark in European film. (Since 'The Underground' is not comparable to any other movie, and only because of that, I won't say that it is the best movie ever)
Bregovic, the maker of the music for this movie, has created something far greater than he had expected. By now, the music theme is extremely popular in Serbia and can be heard everywhere on Belgrade's streets performed by little gipsy groups.
The most important movie to come out of the Balkans; And simply put, it is perfect.