Underground by Emil Kustrica

This film telling the story of the relationship between two Yugoslavian friends over a 50-year span of time is a quick-paced, messy, crude look at the way a friendship can turn sour over the common issues of money and women. However, it is also a commentary on the history of the nation of Yugoslavia during WWII, the Cold War and the Yugoslavian Wars. The plot is made of the story of Marko and Blacky, two friends who enjoy drinking all night, the company of prostitutes and profiteering money out of stolen weapon sales. After the Nazis invade and take over the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and soldiers capture Blacky, taking him off to be tortured, Marko returns to save his friend and help him into hiding in the cellar of his grandfather’s house. It is here he will remain for the next 20 years while Marko becomes the wealthy husband of Natalija (Blacky’s mistress) and one of Tito’s (the party leader) closest advisors.
This film’s complicated story line accompanied by the fast and dimly-lit style makes it difficult for those unfamiliar with the history of Yugoslavia. Viewers are not only constantly trying to keep straight characters and their political party alliances but also their current standing with other characters. As a film filled with camaraderie, brotherhood, deceit, fraud, and love triangles and affairs, with each event a character’s perception of another may be changed or (if in the situation they are left unaware of the other’s doing, such as how Blacky has no idea that Marko is lying to him about still needing to hide out underground), their feelings towards them will remain the same. This is compounded with the difficult to read nature of the filming style; every scene is dark, loud and filled with people, only some of whom are important to the happenings of the scene. Unfamiliar views are left to wonder if this is really what the culture of Yugoslavia looks like - are all of its people drunken, brash, cheating thieves?