Film review: 'Pretty Villages ...'
A hit at festivals in Montreal, Los Angeles and Palm Springs and a big success in its native Yugoslavia, "Pretty Villages, Pretty Flames" is a challenging but entertaining war film that presents both the Serbian and Muslim characters as victims of idealism and cultural hatreds that cause atrocities and countless tragedies.
In the running for an Academy Award nomination, the $2 million production is a spectacle in the tradition of Kusturica, Fellini and Peckinpah. From the bloody clashes in Bosnia-Herzegovina to the camaraderie of soldiers trapped by their former countrymen, the film (in Serbian and English) is a powerful emotional and sensory experience worthy of wider exposure.
One of the best antiwar films to appear in many seasons, with a terrific ensemble cast of male actors and one notable American female, "Pretty Villages" has impressive battle scenes and a long, tense showdown in a tunnel.
Based on a 1992 true story, the screenplay is co-written by director Srdjan Dragojevic and journalist Vanja Bulic, who reported many times on the war. Dragojevic reunites with many actors from his 1992 film, "We Are Not Angels".
Dragan Bjelogric ("Black Bomber") is excellent as the Bosnian Serb lead, a man shocked by the viciousness of modern warfare. His boyhood friend, a Muslim (Nikola Pejakovic), is now his sworn enemy, and they fatefully cross paths in a difficult standoff when a half-dozen Serb soldiers are cornered with no hope of escape.
An American journalist (Lisa Moncure) with a video camera goes through the ordeal as well, with the lack of food and water driving the trapped ones to extraordinary lengths just to stay alive and sane. Scenes of Bjelogric's character in a hospital later, where he seeks revenge on a nearby Muslim patient, are intercut with flashbacks from the characters' lives.
A tour de force of men in peril reminiscent of Wajda's "Kanal" and a surreal but brutal combat film in the fashion of "Apocalypse Now", Dragojevic's unsettling vision provides no easy answers. The result is both rivetingly visceral and effortlessly thought-provoking.
Led by Bjelogric and Nikola Kojo, the performances are robustly on target. Velimir-Bata Zivojinovic, Dragan Maksimovic and Zoran Cvijanovic are standouts among the rugged fighters. Moncure is strong in the comic, tragic and political dimensions of her emblematic role.
Filmed where the real events occurred, "Pretty Villages, Pretty Flames" has first-rate production values, from Dusan Joksimovic's memorable imagery to Mile Jeremic's meaty production design.
PRETTY VILLAGES, PRETTY FLAMES
Cobra Film
In association with MCRS and RTS
Director Srdjan Dragojevic
Producers Goran Bjelogrlic, Dragon Bjelogrlic, Nikola Kojo
Executive producer Milko Josifov
Writers Vanja Bulic, Srdjan Dragojevic,
Nikola Pejakovic
Director of photography Dusan Joksimovic
Editor Petar Markovic
Music Laza Ristovski
Production designer Mile Jeremic
Costume designer Tanja Dragojevic
Color/stereo
Cast:
Milan Dragan Bjelogric
Velja Nikola Kojo
Gvozden Velimir-Bata Zivojinovic
Petar Dragan Maksimovic
Brzi Zoran Cvijanovic
Halil Nikola Pejakovic
Lisa Linel Lisa Moncure
Running time -- 133 minutes
No MPAA rating...
In the running for an Academy Award nomination, the $2 million production is a spectacle in the tradition of Kusturica, Fellini and Peckinpah. From the bloody clashes in Bosnia-Herzegovina to the camaraderie of soldiers trapped by their former countrymen, the film (in Serbian and English) is a powerful emotional and sensory experience worthy of wider exposure.
One of the best antiwar films to appear in many seasons, with a terrific ensemble cast of male actors and one notable American female, "Pretty Villages" has impressive battle scenes and a long, tense showdown in a tunnel.
Based on a 1992 true story, the screenplay is co-written by director Srdjan Dragojevic and journalist Vanja Bulic, who reported many times on the war. Dragojevic reunites with many actors from his 1992 film, "We Are Not Angels".
Dragan Bjelogric ("Black Bomber") is excellent as the Bosnian Serb lead, a man shocked by the viciousness of modern warfare. His boyhood friend, a Muslim (Nikola Pejakovic), is now his sworn enemy, and they fatefully cross paths in a difficult standoff when a half-dozen Serb soldiers are cornered with no hope of escape.
An American journalist (Lisa Moncure) with a video camera goes through the ordeal as well, with the lack of food and water driving the trapped ones to extraordinary lengths just to stay alive and sane. Scenes of Bjelogric's character in a hospital later, where he seeks revenge on a nearby Muslim patient, are intercut with flashbacks from the characters' lives.
A tour de force of men in peril reminiscent of Wajda's "Kanal" and a surreal but brutal combat film in the fashion of "Apocalypse Now", Dragojevic's unsettling vision provides no easy answers. The result is both rivetingly visceral and effortlessly thought-provoking.
Led by Bjelogric and Nikola Kojo, the performances are robustly on target. Velimir-Bata Zivojinovic, Dragan Maksimovic and Zoran Cvijanovic are standouts among the rugged fighters. Moncure is strong in the comic, tragic and political dimensions of her emblematic role.
Filmed where the real events occurred, "Pretty Villages, Pretty Flames" has first-rate production values, from Dusan Joksimovic's memorable imagery to Mile Jeremic's meaty production design.
PRETTY VILLAGES, PRETTY FLAMES
Cobra Film
In association with MCRS and RTS
Director Srdjan Dragojevic
Producers Goran Bjelogrlic, Dragon Bjelogrlic, Nikola Kojo
Executive producer Milko Josifov
Writers Vanja Bulic, Srdjan Dragojevic,
Nikola Pejakovic
Director of photography Dusan Joksimovic
Editor Petar Markovic
Music Laza Ristovski
Production designer Mile Jeremic
Costume designer Tanja Dragojevic
Color/stereo
Cast:
Milan Dragan Bjelogric
Velja Nikola Kojo
Gvozden Velimir-Bata Zivojinovic
Petar Dragan Maksimovic
Brzi Zoran Cvijanovic
Halil Nikola Pejakovic
Lisa Linel Lisa Moncure
Running time -- 133 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/31/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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