This film seems to be getting an awful lot of stick which is quite unfounded. Sure, all the usual Kusturican elements are present, but its these ideas that make his films so special. The colourful barrage of heady surrealism barrels along at an incredible pace but without detracting from the energy of the movie.
The plot follows Tsane as he is sent to the big city, by his Grandfather, to sell the family's cow and return with a wife before Grandpa shuffles off this mortal coil. Of course, life is not that simple and in a sparkling series of ribald vignettes that defy the laws of physics, Kusturica gives the audience murder, prostitution, gangsters, castration and a whole raft of bizarre characters and situations.
However, at the heart of the movie is a quest for love and affirmation against the difficulties posed by the chaos of the region. In a gloriously anarchic ending, a double wedding is conducted in the midst of a gun battle, with the band playing on and all under the baleful gaze of a gravity defying human cannonball.
This is a fun movie and yes, maybe not all of Kusturica's ideas pay off, but we should all be thankful that he has the imagination, the verve and the bravery to experiment with these ideas in his films. I would take one average Kusturica movie over a thousand dull, turgid and pointless Hollywood blockbusters.
The plot follows Tsane as he is sent to the big city, by his Grandfather, to sell the family's cow and return with a wife before Grandpa shuffles off this mortal coil. Of course, life is not that simple and in a sparkling series of ribald vignettes that defy the laws of physics, Kusturica gives the audience murder, prostitution, gangsters, castration and a whole raft of bizarre characters and situations.
However, at the heart of the movie is a quest for love and affirmation against the difficulties posed by the chaos of the region. In a gloriously anarchic ending, a double wedding is conducted in the midst of a gun battle, with the band playing on and all under the baleful gaze of a gravity defying human cannonball.
This is a fun movie and yes, maybe not all of Kusturica's ideas pay off, but we should all be thankful that he has the imagination, the verve and the bravery to experiment with these ideas in his films. I would take one average Kusturica movie over a thousand dull, turgid and pointless Hollywood blockbusters.