Hei, does anyone know where I could find a panel to register for pinecone research at the moment? Th...
Hei, does anyone know where I could find a panel to register for pinecone research at the moment? Thanks a lot in advance!
Member since:05.11.2003
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Today I will try to write a review for a film I like a lot. It is very complicated, full with history and rhythm. Its name is Underground. First let me worn you that you could find it boring, long or confusing. In my opinion this is film from the Balkans and for the Balkans. Probably if you are not familiar with Serbian history and its people psychology it will be very strange and difficult to follow. Its producer is the brilliant Emil Kusturica, who happens to be Sarajevo-born, a Bosnian and a Yugoslav. Some of his other films are 1978 - The brides are coming (middle, TV film), 1979 - Titanic (TV film), 1981 - Do you remember Dolly Bell? , 1985 - When father was away on business, 1989 - Time of the gypsies 1993 - Arizona Dream.
But what is the film about - Underground begins on a deceptively lyrical, unassuming note: "Once upon a time, there was a country." Its 1941 and the story is set in Belgrade, Yugoslavian capital. Marko (Miki Manojlovic) and Blacky (Lazar Ristovski) celebrate their latest caper - the theft of a government arms shipment. The two of them are flirting, pillaging and are getting drunk together, with no moral concerns, giving no thought to anyone but themselves. However, German invades Yugoslavia and
the two friends will share their time between acts of resistance and very profitable traffics.
One of the best scenes in the film is in these first moments when a bomb falls directly onto the Belgrade zoo. Lions, tigers, bears and birds flee the carnage and head out unfettered into the city as zookeeper Ivan (Stimac) weeps amongst the ruins. Kusturica directs his animals as well as he does his humans. A baby monkey, Sino, tries desperately to leave his cage, clawing at the lock but to no avail.
The other main character is Natalja, an actress whom a Nazi officer "protects". She is Blacky's mistress, and after spending several years apart, their separation becomes unbearable for him. So he devises a plan to kidnap her on-stage and kill her lover, an officer named Franz (Ernst Stotzner). But when Natalija refuses to resume their relationship, Blacky is captured and interrogated by the Germans.
Marko and Natalija come to his rescue in one of the most inept getaway capers ever filmed. They eventually rescue a Blacky and hide him in Marco’s grandfather's basement along with a group of friends and refugees. Thus will he be able to keep Natalija for himself. He then pretends to help these people safety during World War II and they start make weapons for the Resistance. After a few years of this lucrative arrangement, Marko neglects to mention to his working prisoners that the war has ended, persuading them that he is still protecting them, 15 years later, from the battle raging above.
And then, one day, everything falls apart, and from there, it gets worse. Blacky and the others having escaped the cellar through subterranean tunnels are to find out that their country is unrecognizable - and yet unchanged. Modern cars and telephones are everywhere, but bombs and bloodshed still abound, and the war again seems pointless. And then began a new war between Blacky and Marko and its believed is the war between Bosnia and Serbia.
"Underground" offers astonishing moments, but elements of the story are still confusing. It explains how a country destroyed itself from the inside, and it exists to show us how not to repeat these mistakes.
This film wont be the same without its music. Goran Bregovic, just like Emir Kusturica, reflects by his origins the multi-ethnic aspect of Yugoslavia: his father is Croatian, his mother Serb, his wife Muslim. He is today surely the most known composer of the Balkans. About "Underground" he says:
“I was lucky enough to work with directors, whereas Emir Kusturica or Patrice Chéreau, who do not really need composers. They are directors who like to take risks with the music, which can be aggressive or melodic. They rarely asked for illustrations of their images. A good film gives immediately the signal. It is like a living body: it accepts or it rejects. A film without sound, it is completely different.” It perfectly explains how important is the music in this film. The soundtrack contains:
1.Kalasnjikov 2.Ausencia 3.Mesecina/moonlight 4.Ya Ya (ringe ringe raja) 5.Kajesukarije 6.Wedding 7.War 8.Underground 9.Underground tango 10.The belly button of the world 11.Sheva
So do I recommend this film? Yes I am, but in one condition - prepare yourself for something very different and wild and so passionate, so exciting and so very odd.
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Action/Adventure - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Jack Ging, Marla Heasley, Lance Legault, Melinda Culea, Mr T, Dwight Schultz, Dirk Benedict, George Peppard, Carl Franklin
![Underground [DVD] [1998]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/105988705.jpg "Underground [DVD] [1998]")
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