Underground
Synopsis
In the midst of war, Marko and Blacky attain riches dealing arms to resistance fighters. When things get too hot, they move into a cellar packed with refugees who manufacture the weapons. With Blacky convinced he should remain hidden until the war ends, Marko conspires to leave him there.
Our take
This historical fiction from auteur Emir Kusturica is an expansive masterpiece, winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1995. An exhilarating and absurdist satire, the film earns its reputation as one of the most controversial yet vital political tales in cinema.
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Awards & Festivals
Cannes Film Festival
1995 | Winner: Palme d'Or
Independent Spirit Awards
1998 | Nominee: Best Foreign Film
Critics reviews
Emir Kusturica establishes the freewheeling tone of Underground from its opening seconds, with the film roaring into life on the boisterous din of a brass band that doesn’t so much march through Belgrade’s streets as it sprints through them while blaring its music in an accelerated triple-time whirl. The manic intensity of this opening stretch prefigures a film that maintains its sense of sweeping, grandiose farce even as the action narrows.
Jake Cole
February 18, 2018
UNDERGROUND is filled with rollicking comic set pieces, gloriously outsized characterizations, and near-constant marching band music—it feels as much like a party as it does a film.
Ben Sachs
February 02, 2018
Tragedy replayed as farce (Kusturica’s favourite mode), it has a thematic and visual audacity (communism as a cellar, a postmodern take on the ‘red western’, the float-away wedding party) that compensates for its hectic overload.
Kate Stables
March 04, 2016
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