Underground (1995)
The film won Best Foreign Film in 1997 from the National Society of Film Critics and the Palme d’Or at Cannes in ’95. It is based on a novel by Dusan Kovacevic, who wrote and directed The Professional released in 2003.
The film begins with the bombing of Belgrade in 1941, and focuses on the devastation of Yugoslavia during WWII. Archival footage of the war is dispersed throughout the film. Two friends, Blacky and Marko join the Communist Party and split a plan. The former sets up an underground factory for the manufacturing of weapons for the resistance so that all involved in the scheme will profit. The latter sells and distributes the weapons above ground. However, when the war ends, Marko decides to keep those underground in the dark so that he can continue to profit off of their labor. The film is a surreal blend of reality and fiction, and its characters, true to Kusturican style, are marred by both good and evil.
The soundtrack for the film, inspired by traditional Serbian/Bugarian gypsy music, was done by Goran Bregovi, one of the most well-known Balkan composers. Bregovi has collaborated with Iggy Pop and also appears on the soundtrack for Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2006 mockumentary, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
In 1996, a documentary was released, Shooting Days: Emir Kusturica Directs Underground. It won the Joris Ivens Award for best documentary at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival in 1997.
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Grading
- Story A-
- Acting A
- Visuals A
- Originality/Innovation A-
- Enjoyability A-
- Overall A-
- DVD Extras NA
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