dmihic Reviews

Balkan Rules (1997)

Beware...this is crap

[11 April 2001]

Steer clear of this movie. It's god awful. Although it has a number of excellent Yugoslavian actors, they can't even save this unorganized and plotless mess. Anyone who tries to convince people to watch this movie is delusional.

The movie is about a son going to visit his ex-Commie dad who has relocated to Greece. The problem with the film is that the son goes to Greece but you have no real clue to why he does or what ensues for the majority of the film after. Absolutely clueless.

Lea (1996)

Intoxicating

[27 July 2000]

This is a very sad yet strangely intoxicating film. My eyes dried out because I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. You never know whether Lea's story will turn for the better or the worse. She is a very sad soul that you just want to scoop up and take care and hope that Mr.Strehlow will do the same despite his unorthodox methods. Although we have seen Lea's story before, this German-Slovak perspective should not be missed.

The Price of Kissing (1997)

Do not watch this movie

[2/10 · 23 February 2000]

The only interesting part of this movie was it's jazz and reggae New Orleans back drop. It tries to be one of those movies that has two struggles the heroine has to overcome, one from the past and one from the present which she fails to do convincingly. The acting's bad and the direction is even worse. I'm not surprised at all that this went straight to video. The end result of this film leaves no one satisfied or convinced including the actors themselves.

Black Cat, White Cat (1998)

Another Kusterica classic

[9/10 · 23 February 2000]

Kusterica has once again perfected another film in his typical unique style. Again he portrays simple stories in a not so simple country (Yugoslavia) and people ( the Rom) in the over-the-top style he has made his own. The story deals with the wedding of a young couple who are in love with others and the madness that goes around them and their criminal families to make sure the wedding goes through. The Gypsies, despite their eccentricities, are portrayed as the lovers of life that they are. Although many might be put off by Kusterica's style, those of Eastern Europe and especially the Balkans will recognize and embrace the craziness of the film.

Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)

Nice piece of work for Hollywood

[1 April 1999]

Although this movie makes a nice film about the heart-wrenching situation in Bosnia-Hercegovina, it should not be taken for it's portrayal of a current event. The movie seems to have been made as a historical film (a la "The Killing Fields")but instead failed due to its one sided portrayal of the situation. The film ignores the truth of a country that has gone wrong, but instead blames a certain group who terrorizes another. Both sides lost by participating in a war which this film often overlooks. It was OK in the sense of entertainment value but no awards who overlooked this film made a mistake either. If you want to watch a quality film on the situation, watch "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame" (Lepo Selo Lepo Gore); it fulfills what "Welcome to Sarajevo" lacks.