Very disappointed :(

A Brilliant Conflict

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

It's always difficult viewing a foreign film without knowing the country's history and politics, so for a Western audience that includes myself, I don't know if the film carries much resonance. What I did surmise with "Underground" was that it was a surreal blend of historical drama, war time chaos, caustic humor and ribald farce. The central idea seems to be director Emir Kusturica's blunt representation of political chicanery that fools an entire society, along with the corruption that allows certain individuals to thrive at the expense of others. One must suspend enormous amounts of disbelief to accept that a nation secludes itself 'underground' for decades believing a war is still raging on. I found the film to be filled with absurdist dark humor, though for my taste, it often seemed directionless and meandering. My viewing was of the one hundred seventy minute theatrical version, and shudder to imagine what the director's cut of five plus hours would have required in the name of patience and fortitude.

So many complex subjects are crammed into this masterpiece. Friendship, love, personal gain, betrayal, politics, beliefs, war, peace, family, the diversity of human nature... And all of that drives the story of this movie. It isn't about neither of these things exactly, it's about how all of those things combine together under oscillating circumstances... It is a movie about our lives. Our lives as different individuals, roles that we play in it, and our life as a society. As I said in the beggining, it's crammed with complex subjects.Many here mention that it describes Balkan region during certain period of history, and while this is partialy true, the characters and the story can be projected to any part of the world. There aren't things here that you won't grasp, just because you aren't a man/woman from Balkans.The ending is especially good, because from my viewpoint, it represents death in a very specific and deep way.Real, surreal, dark, funny, and most importantly, it will remain very relevant, even in distant future.10/10

Underground manages to depict the ripping apart of former Yugoslavia in a very unique manner; the drama is reflected in the entire universe of the movie (nature, animals, etc), not only in the stories of the main characters. Happiness, humor, suffering, sadness coexist and they are presented in the unique style of Emir Kusturica.

There is some rumors that no one can betray you as someone really close, like godfather, or that there is no war if brother fight each other.This is at first story about friendship between two mostly different characters placed in two main roles, Crni and Marko, chasing for love of one woman, Natalia, which in one great musically color-full scene declares them as "there can be made one great made from two of you". In a drama of World War II placed in Belgrade, they will be fighting against Nazi Germans, for freedom and for her love. Lot of black humor comic scenes in war colored places of Balkan, filmed from genius Emir Kusturica, made this movie "must see" if u "wanna understand Balkan soul".