Underground

Underground 20/12/2009

Emir Kusturica's 1995 film, Undergound (or, Once Upon a Time There Was a Country), plots how the madness of violence and war can change not just the landscapes of our lives but also the maps into our humanity.

Read the synopsis of the film from Wikipedia (where I also got the poster photo). And here's a YouTube video of the film's opening scene:

Here we see the film's two main characters, Blacky and Marko, two rogues of friends who start off from playing Robin Hood to becoming gunrunners before their passion for a stage actress tests their loyalties to each other and to their country. Their story parallels Yugoslavia's history from the German invasion to the Yugoslav wars (thus the alternate movie title).

This is a must-see movie not just for its storyline or theme but also for some memorable scenes, to name just a few: the bombing of Belgrade, right after that opening scene; Ivan's search in the underground for his pet chimp Soni; and the paradisaical ending with the ironic breaking away of an island.