Underground (1995)

Sadly Over-hyped

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I was completely amazed by the energy and ambiguity of this film. It manages to be extremely funny, disturbing and depressing at the same time. Backy and Marko, two guys fighting to support the Communism against the Nazism, are living their lives intensely. They steal, they drink, they fight and they are frequent costumers at brothels. It seems that the reason why they are bravely fighting against the Germans is lass because of ideology and more because they want to see some action, and they are only by chance fighting on the Communist side. On the first part of the film, named War, the Germans are attacking Yugoslav, and after having the city bombed, the citizens find shelter underground. The second part, named Cold War, takes place 20 years after the first incident. Because both Backy and Marko fall in love for the same woman, in order to marry her, Marko makes Backy and all the people living underground believe that the war is not over, and that they should stay underground and trust Marko to bring information and food. Finally, the third part, named Civil War, portrays the civil wars in Yugoslav and the effects of the decisions made by the characters on the first and second parts. The first and second parts are marked by the presence of an orchestra playing in almost all shots. It gives a hallucinating and dynamic rhythm for the scenes. All the characters are well constructed and have strong and intense personalities - sometimes it feels as if all of them are on the verge of craziness. The use of dark humour to deal with such a heavy theme as war produces intense effects on the audience - at the same time you can't avoid laughing, you feel guilty for laughing at such a sad theme. Emir Kusturica was heavily criticized for providing an unfaithful portrait of the war. However, his aim was not to portray the war faithfully, but to give his own interpretation of the war. It seems that the critics who rely on this point are not aware that it is intended to be a work of art, and not a documentary.

It's always difficult viewing a foreign film without knowing the country's history and politics, so for a Western audience that includes myself, I don't know if the film carries much resonance. What I did surmise with "Underground" was that it was a surreal blend of historical drama, war time chaos, caustic humor and ribald farce. The central idea seems to be director Emir Kusturica's blunt representation of political chicanery that fools an entire society, along with the corruption that allows certain individuals to thrive at the expense of others. One must suspend enormous amounts of disbelief to accept that a nation secludes itself 'underground' for decades believing a war is still raging on. I found the film to be filled with absurdist dark humor, though for my taste, it often seemed directionless and meandering. My viewing was of the one hundred seventy minute theatrical version, and shudder to imagine what the director's cut of five plus hours would have required in the name of patience and fortitude.

I occasionally refer to my personal top 100 list of films. Underground is a true masterpiece and No.2 on that list, only beaten by a somehow underrated, let the also stunning Bad Boy Bubby. I frankly have hard to believe there ever will be produced films of their format anymore, still I hope to be wrong about that. If anyone could do it, it's Underground's director Emir Kusturica.The film is working as a large satiric metaphoric live screen painting of the history of Yugoslavia, and was also made as a tribute during the Balkan War, and a definite anti war epic poem. Not unlike the also brilliant film Goodbye Lenin it's in a manner based on people still believing in the past, that the world hasn't really changed. And in this film their lives are also happening according to the story's title. I will avoid spoilers, but only state that this film creation is only made possible due to Kusturica's genius and taste for the best of Balkan culture. He is working the great lot of amazing, almost unbelievable characters, into a story so wild and full of symbols, it's sometimes hard to breath. The scenography and pictures are more than stunning, and together with crazy choreography and the most vivid Serbian brass music, it all culminates into a higher form of art, beyond normal film and theater. It simply is impossible not to both laugh and cry.If I could give it 12 stars I would, so if you haven't seen Underground, go for it as soon as possible. And get as many as possible to join you. If you didn't like or understand it, try again or I recommend you to quit watching film. Just now I've got a DVD copy and am really looking forward to see it again.

I thoroughly enjoyed parts of this film. It has moments of pure brilliance and hilarity; however, I'm afraid it's a movie that has great scenes but doesn't really work as a whole. There's a great deal of spirit and ambition in this film, but it just lags a lot in scenes, and the longer you watch it, the more it starts to lose focus, and much of the humor that made it so enjoyable towards the beginning. I did enjoy its unstructured plot, but interest level starts to wane after about the 2 hour mark. This one definitely could have used some cutting; however, this film does take place underground, and the visuals, the music and the setting make for a great atmosphere and a plot that is always unpredictable and filled with adventure, and fun; however, if you want to watch a Kusturica film, I'd go with his other one I've seen: Arizona Dream. It's equally bizarre but it has a much more engaging and interesting story.