There are still a few things that disturb me in the movie but it's so breathtaking...

502

From now on, this is what I'll think of when I use the term "black comedy". Few films are able to jump so ably, so quickly, from the tragic to the comic, from horror to innocence, and be so enjoyable to watch all the way through.

ambitious and largely successful

Very Nice Movie

Man, I just can't find the right words to describe Emir Kusturica. He is certainly one of the most creative directors of the last two decades, and this movie is unique as all the others Kusturica's I've seen.

Kusturica is a genius. Everything about this is odd yet wonderful, from the mad-cap music score to the frames packed with action and humour. Very few films have engaged me as thoroughly as this.

I love how the film maintained its light comedic tone, as the main characters seemed to sink deeper into despair. "Underground" is a beautiful, compelling and honest work of art. Kusturica not only plays with your heartstrings but is in full control of his own artistic style. A masterpiece and worthy Palme D'or winner. Recommended !!!

DNF

"Kusturica's ambitious telling of the history of Yugoslavia from WWII to the 90s wars using absurdities, symbolism, and the usual wild Kusturica quirky comedy... Overlong and mostly of interest to people from this part of the world who would understand the metaphors better."

Borders between brilliance and too-slapsticky nonsense. When it works though, it's singularly unique and a joy to watch.

A madcap, expansive farce-epic of Yugoslavia, from 1941 to 1992, following a pair of black-market profiteers as they go from friends to enemies, to (in a way) friends again. A film filled with bawdiness, wit, and magical realism, which for the most part works wonderfully. The final act seems a bit rushed, and a few subplots seem truncated (to be fair, it was trimmed from a five-hour miniseries), but the acting, directing, and writing are alike excellent. And the theme music is damned infectious.

Funny, heartbreaking, surreal, horror, disturbing, nonsense, fantasy, chaos. You know, I loved the band.

Sometimes the wackiness feels forced and the satire a little obvious, and a couple of sequences didn't work for me (the scenes of Blacky and his son murdering people working on a film felt grotesque, and the epilogue is almost too long, but steps back just in time to save itself), but the way it all leads to that gut-punch of a third act felt earned, so I'm not gonna bitch. The actors are terrifyingly physical, with themselves and each other. They make South Korean actors look like ballerinas.