Reviews

The ratings and critics on this movie probably watched too many urban gangster movies with Al Pacino. I suspect that this rating cant be realistic. "Revolution" is in my view a masterpiece. You not only have passionate performances by Pacino, Kinski and Sutherland, but also beautifully shot and above all pretty realistic depictions of America in the 1770s and 1780s. For a historical movie, this piece of directing is in the same league as other masterfully directed 1970s historical movies, such as Heavens Gate for example. What makes this movie extraordinary though, especially in comparison to Roland Emmerichs The Patriot(which is nothing else than a commercialized and indeed more patriotic kitsch-version of Pacinos "Revolution"), is that it portrays the characters in an accurate historical setting and with believable conflicts in an authentic way. For those who prefer patriotic Hollywood-Kitsch, this movie surely will disappoint.

This movie is a literary adaption of one of George Orwell's earlier works. The movie itself is somehow typical in its British style - Victorian in mood, like one of those outdated Ivory movies. But look more closely. You can find many interesting details, considering themes, metaphors and aspects of Orwells overall work. For one, there is that theme of the proletarian working class as redemption and only place of free thought. Escaping the control society - as it is portrayed in this movie- is only possible if you escape the middle class bourgeoisie (which the Aspidistra stands for metaphorically) and dwell into the simple life of sex, food and pure survival. Yes George Orwell himself dreamt all of his life about living as a free man and so he was constantly criticizing societies restrictions - in this case it is the "Money God", as the main character in "Aspidistra" calls it. Well its a little bit ridiculed of course by these snobbish British film makers and not taken too serious in this movie, but for Orwell it was a true pain. Another theme is the sex in the forest issue. You can find that also in 1984 - another metaphor for a search for freedom and unification with nature.

The story of Salieri is classic. The guy just chose the wrong profession. He should have become a music critic, not a musician. He wants to compose to the glory of God, but fails, simply because he is not talented enough. On the other side he has the gift to see the astonishing talent and genius of Mozarts music. Thats what makes Salieri a unique character in recent film history. The best critic ever seen on screen in a leading role. Besides that, Mozart is not the leading character in this movie. We see Mozart from the eyes of an admirer. Thats why we get a totally wrong impression from the life and work of this musical genius. The ultimate climax of the movie, the requiem scene in Mozarts flat shows the melting of two characters into one. Salieri becomes Mozart for a night. The synthesis of criticism and creativity.

Coppola is a true genius !! This film was for the 1990's what 2001 was for the 1960's and Apocalypse Now for the 1970's. Dracula is a fascinating operatic experience for all senses. Coppola is the "Master" of cinema and his italian gothic interpretation is probably the most vivid presentation of what Horror and Cinema is all about...

The Belgrade microcosm between the wars, portrayed in a way that reminds one very much of Altmans "Short Cuts". Like in "Short Cuts" one becomes as a viewer the observer of small worlds and interconnected relationships that create at the end something like a big picture. But in Bure Baruta you don't think at the end that this picture is whole or round. The world in which these people live is too disturbing, too devastating. Belgrade is not L.A.!

Everybody in this world of sadism, absurdity and despair seems to suffer from a trauma. Nobody really believes anymore in values that we, living in wealthy and peaceful countries take usually for granted: hope, love, friendship, trust and dignity. Instead of this the people lie, betray and abuse each other, as if it is the most natural thing to do.The people from Belgrade live in a totally disjointed world, where violence is not just an everyday phenomenon, but also a fundamental reality on which their lifes and relationships are based on. Bure Barute takes the right step for this new serbian cinema, in simply showing how dark and hopeless this serbian reality is. I hope there will come more films like this one out of this torned country.

"Once upon a time there was a country...".

The subtitle refers of course to Sergio Leone's nostalgic masterpiece "Once upon a time in America". Kusturicas epic has a lot of this operatic and nostalgic moods, which are so significant for Leones movie. Both movies seem to thematize the tragic loss of ideals and the loss of a certain concept of national identity.

But Underground has a lot more than Leones film considering its masterful play with metaphors and fictional realities, in which the protagonists are caught up in. The dystopian metaphor of the underground, the film within a film sequence, the imaginary island at the end of the film, they all suggest an interpretation of yugoslavian history that is far more sophisticated than the interpretations you find in all those recent books about the break-up of this country.

Communist Yugoslavia was a country that was based on lies and deceptions, is what the film suggests, lead by the arbitrary despotism of some tyrants, that manipulated reality and history. At the end there is a total despair and loss of reality. The Serbs still think they fight against fascists- now its the NATO.

Maybe Kusturica was right, when he suggested with Underground, that the people were kept for years in an anachronism and that this deception lead into the break-up of the country. I think one can not think about this film without speaking about the Serbs and there current situation.

The film is of course ambivalent and controversial, but isn't it exactly this characteristic which makes out of a good film a great one?

I liked this movie. Especially the acting by the guy who played the policeman Rojas is great. This is not an action movie and this is good so. Its a very critical movie.

The corrupt social life in Mexico becomes very transparent through the figure of Rojas, who shifts between adjusting to the system (becoming a corrupt policeman) and holding to his ideals (helping the poor). Brilliant is also his almost parodical performance of "policeman machismo".

See this movie. It's worth it!

This is one of my most favourite movies. I don't know if I can say it was the best movie I ever saw. It's amazing to see how talented these amateur actors are and how beautiful the mis en scene is. I always thought about Time of the Gypsies as a kind of answer to the Latin American Magic Realism. Kusturica seems to know which subject requires which specific aesthetic style.

The Gypsies in Yugoslavia live in their traditional world as they live in the bizarre modernity of European reality. The clash of these two worlds is what so many so called European auteur directors thematized since the 1960's. Kusturica seems to be very conscious of these art cinema tradition, but he knows also which people he portraits. The East European Gypsies are in a very essential way still nomads, constantly shifting between different realities:the world of dreams, their own traditions, their myths, rituals and beliefs and the hybrid spaces of European criminality. Kusturica portrays these Gypsy worlds with a story that is both modern but also almost like a fairy tale. It is this very mixture that makes this movie brilliant and a must see.