Life is a Miracle (Serbia/Bosnia/France) (Studio Canal) (2004) ***Year: 2004iMDB
Director: Emir Kusturica Cast: Slavko Stimac, Natasa Solak, Vesna Trivalic, Vuk Kostic
Zivot je cudo does not stray from Kusturica's unique style which made him arguably one of the most important contemporary European film-makers, providing the same dynamic mix of symbolism, fantasy, absurd and drama in the director's familiar Balkan setting.
However, as much as I did enjoy the movie, I felt in the end that I merely saw an artistic movie-making exercise perhaps created by a very good Kusturica scholar, but lacking the storytelling impact that makes his previous movies so good (Underground, Black Cat White Cat, etc.). Dealing with the absurdity of the war (the Serbian-Bosnian war), I couldn't help but comparing Life is a Miracle with the masterpiece Underground or with the flawed yet strong No Man's Land. And in this comparison I felt that most of the film's message was buried too much in symbolism and quirky details. Perhaps a second viewing of the movie will change my mind; until then I think "Life is a Miracle" would be a strong movie by most standards, but a weak one for Kusturica's talent.
Posted by TheCasualCritic on March 7, 2005 11:44 AM | TrackBack