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War Live
Belgrade, 1999. Producer Sergei and his film crew are in a disastrous situation - the film they're making is under threat - there's no money, the crew are dissatisfied - and NATO bombing is just around the corner. Then a member of the State Security Service (Mileta) comes looking for American co-producer Harvey. Anxious and worried, in the midst of the bombing that's begun, Sergei hides Harvey from what he thinks is awaiting him - arrest. During the night, he thinks up a plan. He announces the start of filming on a new, patriotic film - in which the main role will be played by Harvey. The plan works - the State supports the film and Mileta, as the State's representative, joins the crew. However, the underlying conflict between Mileta and Sergei explodes during the first screening. Mileta accuses them of being artists, and not being patriots.
| Release : | 2000 |
| Rating : | 6.7 |
| Studio : | Cobra Film Department, Magična linija, Lucha Film Production, |
| Crew : | Director, Author, |
| Cast : | Dragan Bjelogrlić Srđan Todorović Aleksandar Berček Vesna Trivalić Daryl Haney |
| Genre : | Drama Comedy War |
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Reviews
Wow! Such a good movie.
Touches You
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
I've seen a lot of movies from the Western Balkans in the last two years (about 30 out of the last 40 movies I've seen are from the former Yugoslavia) but this one stands out the most. This is the only movie on IMDb that I've given a 10-star rating. The movie seems to be pretty fair to both the Americans and the Serbs, with each put into moral dilemmas and not necessarily making the best choices. The consequences of the war on everyday people in Belgrade are also evident, with several named characters dying throughout the film. Other reviewers say that this movie is made to make Serbs look like powerless victims, but that's actually how the majority of Belgrade residents viewed themselves. Whether that's accurate or not is up for debate. Still, the movie is made by Belgraders about Belgraders, so expect some mild bias. I found that only a few of the main characters were really flat while most of the core crew was fairly well-developed. Each grappled with issues of divided loyalties.Other reviewers have mentioned that the movie seems incomplete and that the editing is at times choppy and hard to understand. This is absolutely true. However, the moment when the editing gets choppy is the moment when the editor character dies. The movie is quite meta; the audience is meant to believe that the characters in the film actually produced the film and so as the on-screen film team falls into chaos, so does the clarity and production quality of the movie that the audience is watching. I found that this added to the movie, while other reviewers think it took away from it. Your call. I honestly wasn't expecting a masterpiece. Movies about movies, just like poems about poetry, songs about singing, or other art about art, can easily become self-indulgent and plain boring. However, Rat Uzivo/War Live is indeed a masterpiece. It manages not to be excessively self- indulgent but instead meta in all the best ways. (Also, I was amazed to see the logo of the Durham Bulls, my local minor league baseball team, on the hat of Harvey the American. Unexpected moment of North Carolina pride.)
This is a very good movie, made during the final months of the Milosevic regime. It is critical to the regime, but also represents the feelings of normal people from Belgrade during the NATO bombings. People who don't know anything about the bombings could read something before watching. During this time the Serbs were (still) represented by the "free" media as ruthless savages. This film deals with these issues as well. The story is very original, the idea belonged to Dragan Bjelogrlic, and the script was written by Nikola Pejakovic. If you have watched "Lepa sela lepo gore" - Bjelogrlic there played Milan, and Pejakovic - Halil. In "Rat uzivo" you can see some of the best Serbian actors. 10 points from Bulgaria :)
The first two thirds of the film were excellent and most watchable. Sadly, the editing of the last part is rushed and leaves one confused, unsure of what it really is trying to say.Anyone who is fearful of this being a propaganda movie will be happy to learn that the central (bad guy) character represents the prevailing regime. I cannot possibly agree that it is a Serbian nationalist flick.For a glimpse of what it may have been like to be in Belgrade whilst bombs were dropping around you, this is a great and interesting portrayal. It may not have been the bombs themselves causing havoc, but politics, opinions, love, hate, alcohol etc. The drunken scene in the restaurant with the bombing in the background is terrific.
Fascinating look behind the headlines of contemporary Belgrade. Character Harvey, played by Daryl Haney, gives frighteningly funny and dark performance as American ex-pat. Surprisingly high production values all around, capped off by tense script and timely subject matter. Recommended
