Underground

1995

3h 12m

Drama

List

86%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

96%

Audience Score

10,000+ Ratings

Black marketeers Marko (Miki Manojlovic) and Blacky (Lazar Ristovski) manufacture and sell weapons to the Communist resistance in WWII Belgrade, living the good life along the way. Marko's surreal duplicity propels him up the ranks of the Communist Party, and he eventually abandons Blacky and steals his girlfriend. After a lengthy stay in a below-ground shelter, the couple reemerges during the Yugoslavian Civil War of the 1990s as Marko realizes that the situation is ripe for exploitation.

Read More

Read Less

Critics Consensus

Offering an insightful look at Communist Eastern Europe through the microcosm of a long friendship, Underground is an exhausting, exhilarating epic.

Read Critics Reviews

Kate Muir

Times (UK)

Acknowledged as the Bosnian director Emir Kusturica's masterpiece, Underground is a hallucinogenic comic romp through Yugoslavia's troubled history over 50 years.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 24, 2016

Full Review

Dave Kehr

New York Daily News

Delirious in its excess, but never less than ferociously intelligent and operatically emotional, Underground represents one of those rare, exhilarating moments when an outsize artistic vision is fueled by an apparently unlimited budget. Not to be missed.

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 23, 2014

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

A triumph of mise en scene mated to a comic vision that keeps topping its own hyperbole.

Sep 23, 2014

Full Review

Fedor Tot

Vague Visages

Underground remains a controversial and wildly ambitious film, one that refuses to be pinned down. It's a never-ending hall of mirrors that reveals more about the audience than the narrative itself.

Nov 7, 2023

Full Review

Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

War, hot and cold.

Jun 30, 2019

Full Review

Pat Padua

Spectrum Culture

Despite Underground's bleak subject matter, it's an invigorating film, bursting with energy.

Aug 28, 2018

Full Review

Read all reviews

Leaburn O

Just falls short of Time of the Gypsies but Kusturica produced an absolute gem in Underground. It's madcap, dark and brilliant. Almost impossible to explain but wildly inventive. I may be harsh in not giving it the full five stars but the ending got so off the wall that I just couldn't quite go there. Still, it's essential viewing and an absolute joy. What a Director. Bought on DVD from Oxfam. Cost a bit more this one but I wanted it in my collection.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/18/23

Full Review

Panayiota K

Masterpiece! Always surprised by the surrealism. The symbolic portrayal of love and death is unmatched.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/05/23

Full Review

Sachin E

Too naive to be called a war movie. Kusturica's Underground is more about songs and dance than it is about war. The film fails to consider the socio-political aspects, and just gives everything a comical effect.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

William L

"Tito, having lost his friend, fell ill. 20 years later, he died." I'm no expert on the intricate geopolitics of the countries that inhabit old Yugoslavia, but Kusturica's Underground does feel like a compelling and unique take on the national transformation that the region has undergone in the aftermath of World War II, embracing every facet of that ever-changing identity. The film delivers a wide range of tones, subplots, and styles to reflect these changes in self-perception, beginning with a sharp and legitimately funny comedy based on shared ideals (the partisan response to German invasion) before using the camaraderie that it has developed to take on more sincere drama, at first carrying over elements of the earlier humor in the creation of a fake reality for profit (that WWII never ended, touching on the gradual corruption of once-pure national sentiment) before devolving into the pure chaos and disillusionment of the Yugoslav Wars. It's an interesting design, treating the country and its perception almost as a character, changing with time in somewhat indirectly presented ways. While I appreciate the way that the plot unfolds, to me the film is at its best in establishing relationships between characters, and there is none more prominent or impactful than the friendship between Manojlović's Marko and Ristovski's Blacky; their boisterous chemistry is the foundation on which the rest of the film is built, and their early lighthearted exchanges totally sell the dynamic. Some very original story design, surprisingly substantial sets, and creative direction make Underground a distinct and worthwhile epic, even if it apparently attracts criticism among those sensitive to the ongoing regional conflict in Serbia and beyond. (4/5)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/20/21

Full Review

nikita y

Every second of 5 hours is worth it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the best films ever made. An absolute stroke of genius by Emir Kusturica. A Balkan story so full of history, life, madness, wisdom, colorful characters and fabulous music, it simply makes your life richer.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Emir Kusturica

Director

Miki Manojlovic

Marko

Lazar Ristovski

Crni

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

82%

72%

Broken English

56%

80%

Savior

92%

94%

Before the Rain

92%

89%

Lamerica

60%

44%

Kansas City

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Black marketeers Marko (Miki Manojlovic) and Blacky (Lazar Ristovski) manufacture and sell weapons to the Communist resistance in WWII Belgrade, living the good life along the way. Marko's surreal duplicity propels him up the ranks of the Communist Party, and he eventually abandons Blacky and steals his girlfriend. After a lengthy stay in a below-ground shelter, the couple reemerges during the Yugoslavian Civil War of the 1990s as Marko realizes that the situation is ripe for exploitation.

Director: Emir Kusturica
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Serbian
Box Office (Gross USA): $154.0K
Runtime: 3h 12m
Sound Mix: Stereo