Underground Details

[Highly rated reviewer]

a modern classic?

I was very intrigued what I would make of this film, considering the contrasting views of other reviewers: was it five-star wonderful or a no-star disaster? To start with, it’s not ‘easy viewing’ with subtitles, unfamiliar cultural references, loads of things taking place on screen and two leading characters who looked so similar, at first I found it difficult to tell them apart. This added to the confusion in a film which was portraying the confused events of a turbulent history. It may say more about my attention span than the film, but I found it better to take a couple of breaks from the film, as it is so intense. So what kept me watching and what makes this a good – no, brilliant – film? Number one – the images. The director has produced tableaux which are visually stunning and are on a par with the best of European cinema: “I didn’t think they made films like this anymore”. Second, the story of Yugoslavia, a country forged in the insanity of the Second World War and destroyed in the insanity of the Balkan Wars at the end of the twentieth century. Between, Tito treated the population like mushrooms (kept in the dark and fed on sh*t), making them hide underground from imaginary enemies (hence the name of the film). In existence for about fifty years, the director sees the People’s Republic of Yugoslavia as a crazy invention of history, now remembered just as a weird dream: “We’re all mad, it’s just not all of us have been certified yet”, as one of the characters says. The film's surreal, dream-like quality is very successful: the manic village band’s accompaniment, death represented as underwater swimming, the insane roundabout of burning bodies, etc. etc. This is a film that requires effort to watch but it’s worth it. In time, 'Underground' could become a classic of European cinema.

Best film of all time?

This is the powerful, thought provoking and surreal story of how identity, history and friendship are distorted by war. The film charts the turbulent history of the former Yugoslavia through the lives of two friends, one of whome tricks the other in to taking refuge 'underground' thinking that war continues to rage above ground. Funny and heart-wrenching at the same time this is a film that deserves viewing after viewing.