Watch Punk's Not Dead For Free

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Redundant and unnecessary.

Awesome Movie

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I heard some great recommendations for this film before I see it, so naturally, I was expecting something fresh. From the very opening of the film, I was sure I am not looking at anything different. However, I decided to give it a chance.The film altogether is not all that bad. First of all, I do find the acting very honest and even though the characters are complete stereotypes, the chemistry between the actors is powerful and carries the film's credibility on a decent level. But its the general atmosphere and director's style that I find really pathetic and cliché. Of course, it all comes from Balkan mentality, which is all about feeling sorry for ourselves. And to all of this - all the clichés that you can expect from a Balkan film - desperate jobless people constantly mumbling about the great past and f****d up present, nationalism, ethnic conflict, memories of war, foreigners and NGO's (in this case horribly acted by Macedonian actors who's English accents were typically Macedonian..) The film tends to be very "authentic" and "real" and in the same time, it blows out of proportion all of the above mentioned clichés. The most disturbing fact about this film is that people tend to like it, which only shows that Balkan nations as well as most Balkan filmmakers have pretty much stuck their heads in their pathetic, self-pitying b**s, and according to this, they are not coming out of there any time sooner. Having in mind that almost every Balkan film is like that, especially some of the more successful ones, PUNKS NOT DEAD is easily comparable to a cheap Hollywood remake in its unoriginality and lack of distinctive point of view.

Imagine the creators of Pitchfork Media, Urban Outfitters and David Bowie, deciding to make a movie on underground subcultures of San Francisco's Bay Area during the early eighties. Now, take a look at everyone's past opus and try to find any mutual relationship between it and the movie they've made. Totally awkward, right? The CEO of PM would probably insist on picking the most commercially acclaimed artist of the era, UO would take care of fashion, without hesitating a bit to add a natural, yet new age touch to the whole fashion thing, while Bowie himself...well, he'd probably create a disco-punk(?) version of an Exodus song as a soundtrack for the movie (you know, just to smooth things out a little). On top of it all, imagine a random writer, who, best case scenario, is too old to have ever heard about the whole Bay Area thing, let alone know anything about it apart from what he has heard in the media. Frickingly hilarious, I tell you! That's the exact hypothetical equivalent of "Punk's Not Dead". Let me be more precise by explaining things a bit. Two middle age losers from Skopje, who have nothing better to do in life than drink cheap beer and beg their retired parents for money, decide to start a punk band after a guy offers them some cash to play a gig that would supposedly promote inter ethnic peace during war time. The two punks are portrayed in the most stereotypical way there is: ignorant, hooked on drugs and alcohol, stuck in their teenage years and cheap, while also believing to be anarchists because they drink beer and wear Dr. Martens . The usual Sex Pistols (might not be SP, but something similar like New York Dolls or whatever...not sure) shirts tend to unveil the directors lack of knowledge and his conventional beliefs of the whole punk concept. Anyway, the two irresponsible punks, accept the offer and without even having a band, begin an everlasting quest for members. After somehow managing to form their band, they finally get to play this concert, which happens to be in a predominantly Albanian city. Those familiar with local stereotypes, can probably guess what happens: they get attacked by the Albanians because of their "unconventional" music style. Led by the will to play another last gig for the sake of old times, they don't stop, so the whole situation becomes quite aggravated. After somehow escaping and coming back to Skopje, they get attacked by Nazi skinheads, who blame them for betrayal (because they played in front of Albanians). I will not go on explaining the story, because it makes no sense anyway, but, I will however focus on two main stereotypes that make this movie just another media platitude: punk music and nationalism. What is the point of making a movie on punk, when its adherents are portrayed in compliance with the general ignorance of the public? Not all punks are heavily hooked on substances, most of the true ones despise Sex Pistols (again, this might have been any stupid band labeled as punk) and the music itself is definitely not a ticket to failure. Even more, Skopje used to have quite a punk scene, and being personally involved in it, I see no connection between the movie and the real situation. We may now assume the movie has failed in this segment. Speaking of nationalism, it is inevitable to recognize the director's attempt to relate punk music with nationalism, as well as highlight the lack of tolerance between the two prevailing nationalities in Macedonia. Starting from the main character's neutral opinion on the issue, to the Neo-Nazi "fan base" of the band, punk remains a fuel for hatred (whatever happened to the whole left wing oriented punk belief?!). All in all, the movie resembles a melodramatic propaganda film (imagine Reefer Madness to be the ultimate marijuana movie) that has failed to offer its viewers what it's supposed to, or at least, what the tittle promises to. I'd like to add that the acting crew hasn't had the opportunity to show their skills. During the movie, it is quite noticeable that there has been quite a waste of talent. Some of the actors (well, apart from that Kamka chick) have proved their good skills in a lot of other movies. Too bad it was nearly impossible to do a decent impersonation of an idiot. =)

When we saw the movie in Sofia Film Fest 2012 program we were like "there's no chance it's gonna be a good punk movie..." ... I mean... Macedonian punk movie, written and directed by a 58 year old guy... come on... :) But after a couple of beers we decided to give it a chance. And my oh my... What a surprise it was...The movie is very very good! Script is great, filming is great, actors are surprisingly good... the music... everything...Now I suppose people who are not from the Balkans might not get most of it... but if you're local you'll surely love it. Everything is so real and it's like... I was totally speechless.I don't want to give any spoilers by speaking about the story - just go and see it! You won't regret it! 10/10 - probably the best Balkan movie I've ever seen! (bow) Bravo na Vladimir Blazevski i vsichki ostanali - strahoten film (bow)