Film: Underground
Director: Emir Kusturica
Country: Yugoslavia
Released: April 1995
Runtime: 170 minutes
Genre: Surrealism
Studio: Komuna, Pandora, CIBY 2000
Influenced: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Aki Kaurismäki, Wes Anderson, Agnieszka Holland, Cristian Mungiu
A citizen of Sarajevo, formerly in Yugoslavia and now in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Emir Kusturica studied film directing at FAMU film school in Prague, where he began his career making short films, such as Guernica (1978). Kusturica's feature-length directorial debut came with Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (1981), which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, followed by When Father Was Away On Business (1985), which was co-written by Kusturica and won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, bringing him international acclaim. Time of the Gypsies (1988) further solidified Kusturica's reputation as a director with a unique voice and singular vision, and this led to his first English-language film, Arizona Dream (1993), another surreal mix of comedy and drama, starring Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway. Then came Underground, which the director conceived as a metaphorical exploration of the political and social upheavals that Yugoslavia went through during the 20th century.
Underground serves as a complex allegory for the country's turbulent history, addressing themes such as war, betrayal, love and the consequences of ideology. The film was controversial in Yugoslavia and was criticised by some for its portrayal of the country's history and politics, with Kusturica facing a backlash from various factions. Politics aside, two things that are undeniably attractive about Kusturica's film are its extraordinary sense of vitality and its wonderful Balkan gypsy folk music. The influence of surrealist war films such as Fellini's Amarcord (1973) and Schlöndorff's Tin Drum (1979) on Underground can be seen clearly. All three share a manic energy, a sense of life continuing to pour forth despite Nazi oppression. Underground was originally conceived as a TV mini-series but was later edited into a three-hour feature film owing to budget constraints, and its three parts span the country's history from WWII (part I) to the Cold War (part II) and the Yugoslav Wars of the early 90s (part III).
Kusturica took an irreverent approach to genre, constantly veering between comedy and drama. As well as a liberal sprinkling of sex and violence, the film also has moments of surreal comedy (the elephant at the window stealing Blacky's shoes) and absurd beauty (the bride attached to a device that gives her the sensation of flying). The film primarily follows the lives of two friends, Marko (Miki Manojlović) and Blacky (Lazar Ristovski), and their muse Natalija (Mirjana Joković). Marko, a shrewd and manipulative character, convinces his friend Blacky that the war is still ongoing even after it has ended, trapping a group of people in an underground cellar for decades. The underground world becomes a microcosm of Yugoslavia, with various characters representing different aspects of the country's history and politics. The story explores the absurdity of the situation and the impact of political manipulation on ordinary people. Underground's production was challenging, with Kusturica and his crew facing logistical and financial difficulties, including a fire on set, which meant the film took 18 months to complete.
Underground received critical acclaim and won several prestigious awards, including the Palme d'Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1996, cementing Kusturica's reputation as a visionary filmmaker. The film features a memorable soundtrack with music composed by Goran Bregović, a style of raucous Balkan gypsy folk that would become popular in the mid-2000s with bands like Gogol Bordello and Beirut. The recurring motif of the gypsy brass band and their music provides a sense of continuity in the film, emphasising the idea that culture will outlast the ravages of war. Underground is rich in symbolism, using the underground cellar as a metaphor for Yugoslavia's isolation from the rest of the world, and the scene where Blacky and other characters realise they have been deceived about the war's end and have been living in the underground for decades is a pivotal and emotionally charged moment.
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