"Life Is A Miracle" *** (out of ****)There is a sub-plot in Emir Kusturica's film "Life Is A Miracle" concerning a Bosnian woman falling in love with a Hungarian musician. She doesn't speak Hungarian and he doesn't understand her yet they claim to be in love.
You might not think much of their scene together but the message behind it is the language of love knows no barriers. And that is essentially what Mr. Kusturica's film is all about.
Taking place in 1992 right before the Bosnian war, life in Bosnia seems carefree. The townspeople are excited about a new railroad being built which hopefully will do a lot of tourism. For Luka (Slavko Stimac) he is happy about his son, Milos (Vuk Kostic) who dreams of becoming a soccer star and he seems to love his wife, Jadranka (Vesna Trivalic) who seems to have suffered a nervous breakdown. She was a once famous opera singer who now worries about being put into a home for the elderly.
During the opening moments of "Life Is A Miracle" I was ready to call it a masterpiece. There is something about the films of Kusturica which I find joyous. There is a wild energy in his work which has a devilish frantic pace. My favorite of his films is "Underground", released in 1997. It won the top prize at Cannes. His other works include "Black Cat, White Cat", "When Father Was Away on Business", "Do You Remember Dolly Bell?" and "Time of the Gypsies". "Life Is A Miracle" seems to follow in their footsteps. So much happens in the first 20 minutes of the film as we meet these oddball characters as the camera dances with excitement following them.
Sadly the film doesn't maintain this spirit for long. Events change Milos' plans as he is sent to report for the army after learning he could be signed on a major soccer team. Jadranka leaves Luka for a Hungarian cimbalom player (Dr. Nelle Karajlic). We learn Milos is now a prisoner of war. The plan is capture a Serbian, a young nurse, Sabaha (Natasa Solak) and suggest an exchange. Sabaha lives with Luka, as his prisoner, as she writes a letter to her wealthy family informing them of the trade.
When these events happen the film shifts in tone. It is no longer a madcap comedy adventure but wants to make a social and political commentary on the nature of war and the existence of the former Yugoslavia. This reminds me of the Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers film "Once Upon A Honeymoon". What started off as a classic comedy turns into a humanitarian film on WW2.
To further get his point across about love knowing no limits the Bosnian, Luka, falls in love with Sabaha. Proving we are all the same. Incidentally, Kusturica, who is himself a Bosnian, is not too loved in his home country. During the war Mr. Kusturica sided with Serbia. His film "Underground" confirms this idea as well. But the idea also reminded me of the Oscar winning Bosnian film "No Man's Land" where a Serbian and a Bosnian soldier are stuck in a ditch together.
"Life Is A Miracle" is a very long film. It runs over two hours. Normally Mr. Kusturica's films are not so long. Sometimes it feels as if Kusturica is going off message. He takes too many flights of fancy ultimately delaying his plot.
But this review may sound too negative. I don't mean for it to. I liked the film. There are moments of sheer joy and delight. The performances are effective and once in a while are able to find that special blend of pathos and comedy. Natasa Solak is a highlight. She possesses such a tender presence on-screen which makes it hard not to fall in love with her. And Kusturica's son, Stribor who plays an army captain has some funny moments as well. There is also a wonderful musical score done by Dejan Sparavalo and Kusturica (for those that don't know he has his own band). The music is a blend of traditional folk music but has a rock n' roll edge to it. And a cimbalom is heard throughout the movie.
There is some more sad news to report however. "Life Is A Miracle" has never been shown in the United States. The film has never found distribution. The last film to be distributed here was "Black Cat, White Cat" made back in 1998. Since that time Kusturica has made two films, this and "Promise Me". I'm not sure why the films are having a hard time being released here. Perhaps there was bad word of mouth when the film played at Cannes (where it was nominated for the palme d'or). Even die hard fans of Kusturica have bashed the film on imdb.com. But what were producers expecting? These films would never be top box-office draws but I'm sure they would do average art house film business. His fans would see the film if only to have the theatre experience of watching it on the big screen.
If you can find "Life Is A Miracle", there are some region 2 DVD's out there, I'd suggest watching it, especially if you are a Kusturica fan.
Posts
