Published via Ecency

(source: tmdb.org)

“Inter arma silent Musae” is old Latin proverb suggesting that it is difficult or sometimes impossible to create remarkable works of art during wars or similar times of trouble. History, however, provides many examples to contrary and one of the latest could be found in 1990s Serbia. Country that was involved in bloody Yugoslav wars, got bombed by NATO and affected by devastating UN sanctions somehow managed to maintain and develop cinema industry that was surprisingly vibrant and diverse, at least compared with cinema industry in other parts of former Yugoslavia. One of the first films to signal this trend was We Are Not Angels, 1992 comedy written and directed by Srđan Dragojević.

The plot is set in Belgrade and begins when Angel (played by Uroš Đurić) and Devil (played by Srđan Todorović) make a bet about who would win the soul of protagonist Nikola (played by Nikola Kojo), twenty-something student who practises playboy lifestyle and has slept with most of the beautiful women in the city. During drunken night-stand he seduced and deflowered young student Marina (played by Milena Pavlović). Nikola was so drunk that he can’t remember even her name, but she is desperately in love with him and things are even complicated when she discovers that she is pregnant. Her best friend Buba (played by Branka Katić) tries to help her find Nikola, but girls’ efforts are at times thwarted by Devil and Angel pulling all kinds of tricks in order to win a bet.

From the outside perspective, We Are Not Angels looks nothing more than light-hearted, although well-made comedy. Dragojević, for whom this film represented feature debut, directed it with great skill and energy, maintaining quick tempo and filling relatively simple and unoriginal plot with series of interesting gags and visual references in wide range from classic works of art to Twin Peaks. Although quality of humour varied, most of the gags were quite funny. Great deal of credit for success of this scenes goes to the formidable cast that includes some of the veterans of Yugoslav cinema like Eva Ras or Predrag “Miki” Manojlović (playing the brief role of married Boomer who desperately want to cling to carefree lifestyle practised by his Generation X friends). Nikola Kojo, who was already popular due to the role of heartthrob in Foolish Years a.k.a. Žikina dinastija cycle of comedies, is very effective as protagonist torn between desire to continue with his irresponsible lifestyle and desire to do the right thing. Milena Pavlović, who plays Milena, is also very good in his role. But the most impressive performances belong to supporting cast. Branka Katić, who plays her best friend, is charming and effective in her role and would later display her talent in Hollywood and other international production. Vesna Trivalić also leaves strong impression in brief and memorable role of Nikola’s psychotic ex girlfriend.

What ultimately made the film a great hit and created cult status which last to this day is the context of time and place in which it was made. During the production, Yugoslavia began to fall apart in extremely violent way that included escalating war in Croatia. Dragojević, according to his later statements, credited this film as an excuse to evade the draft and being sent to fight in bloody Battle of Vukovar. However, all those events and even the devastating economic crisis that would serve as catalyst for dissolution of Yugoslavia, are almost not present in the film. We Are Not Angels is set in world of Belgrade’s middle or upper class youth that is almost completely isolated from those troubles, as well as nationalist hysteria that engulfed most of Serbia in those times. Characters listen to rock music instead of folk, the only differences between them are, at least for the most part, based on belonging to different generations and for all practical purposes, are indistinguishable from members of same social groups in modern Western cities. The only thing that trouble them are issues of the heart. The encroaching war is recognised only in one brief but macabre seen when Buba sees her father dressed in military uniform. This bubble-like life of Belgrade life made We Are Not Angels look like escapist fantasy, but it was that escapist fantasy that Serbian audience needed, especially after UN embargo prevented Hollywood films from arriving to Serbian cinema. We Are Not Angels thus became big hit, and its popularity even transcended battle lines turning the film into underground attraction in Croatia where some of the dialogue lines even entered popular vocabulary. Croatian audience was also partially amused with the brief scene showing protagonist taking vacation on Croatian island of Lastovo which was at the time of production inaccessible to tourists due to war (and scene obviously shot on Serbian locations).

Dragojević used success of this film to implement his style on two films that would actually deal with war and related sinister realities of 1990s Serbia - Pretty Villages, Pretty Flames and Wounds and that cemented his reputation as one of the most successful Serbian film makers of his generation. We Are Not Angels, however, continues to be the most popular part of his filmography. In 2005 Dragojević directed a sequel We Are Not Angels 2, followed by 2006 film We Are Not Angels 3: Rock & Roll Strike Back, directed by Petar Pašić.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)