Review of Pretty Village, Pretty Flame

An extraordinary film in the best tradition of Serbian cinematography which itself has a proved track record stretching all the way back to and throughout the Yugoslav era, and the one that far outweights contributions from other former YU regions. It's a big shame that non-Serbian speaking viewers cannot completely appreciate the spark and the breeziness of the dialogue, although the English subtitled translation is generally quite dextrous and does the best it can, by and large getting it right amidst very strong (sometimes amusingly so) language. The acting too is superb - a brilliant episode by Petar Bozovic (Sloba), a great turn from the main lead (Dragan Bjelogrlic, as Milan) - and a truly moving performance by Zoran Cvijanovic (Speedy, the self proclaimed 'unreformed drug addict currently getting anti drug war group therapy'). All in all, a group of very talented actors of a certain generation at work, and a tough and gritty piece of film making, which manages to be ominously dark (the amusement park flashback sequences are hauntingly disturbing), but also nostalgic, clinically sobering and mordantly humorous at the same time, whilst steering clear of pro-Serbian propaganda, opting instead, as another user correctly pointed out, for a sort-of-pro-Yugoslav one.

Quite revealing is an exchange between Velja (Nikola Kojo) and Gvozden (Velimir-Bata Zivojinovic, a veteran and a favourite of Serbian cinema in a routinely poignant performance) - halfway through the film - a few succinct lines spoken there which may offer a clue as to what Yugoslavia as a country was - or might have been - all about; and why events that ensued during the nineties actually took place. Great stuff, still going strong ten years on.