Gadjo Dilo / The crazy stranger (Romania, 1997)

Gadjo Dilo is about a French man who is looking for the singer he hears on a cassette. To find her, he is getting in touch with the Gypsies, the Roma. To be honest, this movie isn’t about a brilliant storyline. This movie is about looking for the music of the soul.
It is a rather good movie, it makes you feel happy most of the time. Everything is a bit too much overdone, like movies often do when they are about the gypsies, but this gives it a good joyful vibe.

I did not think it is a masterpiece but the music in it is just great. It really shows how important music can be for people’s emotions. The clothing is really beautiful as well, for what the gypsies also are known for.
The acting is ok, it isn’t the best of this movie, but once again it is not about a story or the acting really. A movie that shows the purity of music

When father was away on business / Otac na sluzbenom putu (Yugoslavia, 1985)

When father was away on business, by director Emir Kusturica, is a movie that shows a glimpse of the period in Yugoslavia I barely knew. When Tito broke up with Stalin in 1948 some dangerous years were coming for the Yugoslavic communists. For a simple joke, Mesa made about a cartoon In a newspaper, Mesa is being send to prison by his own brother in law.
This movie is about history, politics and the life of a family in Sarajevo during these changing days. It is sometimes very funny, and also sometimes very moving.
The acting is really outstanding. I love the way Mirjana Karanovic (Grbavica) gives depth to her character in the most natural way, just acting great.
Kusturica made a film which blended history and a glimmer of hope beautiful together. The music is really good as well, the typical emotional Balkan songs which live on tears.
In my opinion this movie is a little masterpiece, I enjoyed every minute of it!
In this film we see Muslim, Christian an Jewish people living peacefully together. How did it all change some years later……

The edge of love (Great-Brittain, 2008)

The edge of love stars Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Jonathan Rhys and Cillian Murphy. Though the temptation is huge to compare it with Atonement, I won’t even start it (also because I will think millions will do it already) because Atonement is of Hors Categorie.

So what is ‘the edge of love’? It is a story about the brilliant poet Dylan Thomas and the destructive influence de has on two woman (played by Knightley and Miller). Rhys is married to Sienna in this movie, but he shares a childhood love with Keira who is still in love with him but marries soldier Cillian. The story evolves around these characters and their emotions.
The story didn’t really enchant me. Though in the first part of the movie there are some great scenes, dark sensual with poetical texts, and even some fighting scenes in Greece, you never really know what the movie wants to tell you. Of course it is about the relationship of the two women who are bond to this man but it just could not really convince me. The second part of the movie takes place in Wales, where it focuses on the downwards spiral of the character’s lives. Towards the end of this film the mood really gets dark as the deepest night.
The acting is often good, to be expected, but sometimes the interaction between the actors is a bit lacking in quality (the friendship between Knightley and Miller never gets really believable). Cillian Murphy (wind that shakes the barley) did rather great as a traumatized soldier and shows once more he is a fantastic actor!

I liked this movie because I like the poetical dialogues and some beautiful and heartbraking scenes but I just expected a little bit more of it.