This is another wonderful film by Emir Kusturica. Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian civil war, it tells the story of Lukas, ethnic Serb, railway engineer, husband of the world's clumsiest opera-singer and father of the region's most talented football player. Being Kusturica, that's only the half of it, however. As the story of the war unfolds, and prisoners get taken on both sides, the film mixes Kusturica's trademark chaos and beauty with the destruction of war and the attraction of love. Simply oozing warmth, charm, and those ever present wandering ducks, Life is a Miracle is a simply wonderful film. If you've seen and loved Black Cat, White Cat, then you'll know exactly what to expect. Enchanting music, wacky characters, spontaneous sing-a-longs, more cats and dogs than you can shake a stick at, and - I kid you not - a suicidal, lovesick donkey. In the hands of any other director the result would be absolute nonsense. With Kusturica, it's what you sat down to watch the film for in the first place. Every shot is a work of art, so carefully and beautifully composed as to impress you at every turn. The actors are so bursting with energy and larger than life that it often has the feel of a magical fairytale. And while Kusturica never trivialises the war that offers the backdrop to the film, he does use it to great effect, finding wonderful humour in it as well as ample opportunities to show off just how incredibly beautiful his film-making can be. The only drawback is the length - at almost 2.5hrs long, it requires quite a lot of energy to watch it. That said, you can only begin to imagine how much energy must have been required to actually make it. The word "masterpiece" is frequently overused, but honestly - they really don't make 'em like this anymore, if they ever did. A wonderful, wonderful film.