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Underground
Подземље
1995 170 min Yugoslavia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary 16+
★8.0
Comedy, Drama, War
Director: Emir Kusturica
Trailers
Description
Black marketeers Marko and Blacky manufacture and sell weapons to the Communist resistance in WWII Belgrade, living the good life along the way. Marko's surreal duplicity propels him up the ranks of the Communist Party, and he eventually abandons Blacky and steals his girlfriend. After a lengthy stay in a below-ground shelter, the couple reemerges during the Yugoslavian Civil War of the 1990s as Marko sees the opportunity to exploit the situation.
Budget:
$14M
US Gross:
$171,082
Worldwide:
$182,134
Starring
Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic
Actor
Lazar Ristovski
Actor
Mirjana Jokovic
Actor
Awards
Cannes Film Festival 1995
— Palme d'Or
César Awards 1996
— Best International Feature Film
Key opinion
Emir Kusturica's Underground is widely hailed as a masterful, surrealist allegory of the rise and collapse of Yugoslavia. While celebrated for its vibrant, tragicomic energy and deep emotional resonance, it remains a dense and challenging work that shifts between farce and tragedy.
| Score | Goran Bregović's energetic and orchestral score is essential in capturing the chaotic, intoxicating spirit of the film's depicted eras. | |
| Theme | The film functions as a profound and sophisticated historical allegory, using the underground metaphor to map the ideological stupor and eventual fragmentation of Yugoslavia. | |
| Emotion | The narrative maintains a high degree of intensity that demands deep personal engagement rather than passive viewing, resulting in a lasting impact on its audience. | |
| Pacing | The film's tone is highly divisive, with opinions split on the abrupt transition from carnival-like comedy to grim, tragic reality; some find this shift an effective mirror of historical chaos, while others feel the tonal disparity is disjointed. |