UNDERGROUND

The film, “Underground”, takes place during World War II when the German Nazi’s were occupying Yugoslavia. The film revolves around the interconnected and interlinked lives of the two main characters, Marko and Blacky. Blacky and Marko seem like psychiatric mentally ill ward patients who have escaped from the mental institution. Both characters are very eccentric when it comes to everything they do, how they do it and their facial expressions that accompany it. However, a friendship among comrades quickly shifts to a bitter rivalry over a theater actress, Natalija, and her love. Marko is able to thrive and become rich by misleading his best friend, Blacky, who remains hidden underground with fellow comrades. Blacky and the others are deceived by Marko and essentially conned into producing arms for the war’s resistance fighters providing easy and abundant amounts of cash for him and Natalija. Most of the cinematography in the film was done in high contrast. By high contrast, I mean that most of the lighting is very dark and the presence of shadows is prevalent in almost all the scenes. The film has a very natural feel compared to that of most Hollywood war productions. Emir Kusturica, the director of the film used what was made to look like actual footage from the war to be interconnected with the film. Little touches like that really help make the film so much more real, personable and easier for the audience to remember and relate too.