Underplayed Gems

Underground (1995)

Underground poster
Original title
Подземље
Directed by
Emir Kusturica
Genre
drama film, comedy film, tragicomedy, war film
Country
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic
Runtime
2h 43m
Rated
14
Rating
7.7 of 10 from 786 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This is the story of two friends whose lives and lies intertwine across decades of Yugoslav history from World War II into the breakup of the country. It follows them through chaotic events and a hidden underground world as the nation changes around them.

absurdistdarkly comicsatiricalchaoticepicunsettlingsurrealbittertheatrical

What happens

Underground (Serbian: Подземље, romanized: Podzemlje), is a 1995 epic satirical absurdist dark comedy war film directed by Emir Kusturica, with a screenplay co-written with Dušan Kovačević. It is also known by the subtitle Once Upon a Time There Was One Country (Serbian: Била једном једна земља, romanized: Bila jednom jedna zemlja), the title of the five-hour miniseries (the long cut) shown on Serbian RTS television. The film uses the epic story of two friends to portray a Yugoslav history from the beginning of World War II until the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars. It is an international co-production with companies from Yugoslavia (Serbia), France, Germany, Czech Republic and Hungary. The theatrical version is 163 minutes long. Kusturica stated in interviews that his original version ran for over five hours, and that co-producers forced edits. Underground received widespread critical acclaim, and won the Palme d'Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. It was Kusturica's second win following When Father Was Away on Business (1985). It went on to win other honours. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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