Life Is a Miracle [DVD]

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.

Kustrica is quite simply one of the most talented directors not just of our time, but period. But as his films aren't po faced dirges, and because he evoke a robust earthy manic joy of life, the modern day pundits dismiss him or dont give him his proper due. Its sympomatic of our times, that we are brainwashed to distrust anything that bursts with energy and glee. His films, full of people and assorted animals: they range from parents and children, lovers and crooks, dealmakers, automobile and trains, musicians, rouges, pigs that eath rusted cars and lovelorn donkeys that want to commit suicide. True, his 'everything in the pot' approach does not always work, but what other director takes such risks and leaves us in the end with such fellow-feeling? The villages that his films are set in, are like villages all over the world, in all their chaos and noise and mess.

Which other director depicts the unspoken but tender regard that parents and children have for each other. Where else can you see glorious music being played, and musicians given their due. Where else does a dog, a cat, a pig, a donkey , gesse and chickens get their own screen space (and not always on their good behaviour).

This film, set in the recent war, may be critisised for not depicting the true horrors that took place, but i'd think for ordinay humans caught up in it, this was pretty much what it may have felt like. With all the shelling and bombing, that they were just pawns trying to live within the chaos and make sense. You dont always need the hollywood heroics.

Kustrica deserves a large fan base.

I'm a little disappointed, the DVD is in Serbian and sibtitles only in Romanian. There is no English at all, on the cover when I have chose, a title was in English and what have been sent to me is in Serbian. it's not fair