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Man Is Not a Bird

Play trailer Poster for Man Is Not a Bird 1966 1h 12m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A Serbian engineer (Janez Vrhovec) falls for a younger woman (Milena Dravic), but he is inept at courtship.

Critics Reviews

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Geoff Andrew Time Out Makavejev's first feature is a delightful, typically eccentric concoction. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Vincent Canby New York Times It was made in 1966, and it is by far the most original, intelligent, witty and important film I've seen so far this year. Rated: 5/5 May 9, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jun 30, 2005 Full Review Film4 Staff Film4 There are better attempts at mixing politics and social commentary, but this is a lot of fun. May 24, 2003 Full Review Christopher Null Filmcritic.com The film's poetry is subtle and telling. Rated: 3/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member ok romance movie as a worker falls for a co worker his junior. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review walter m "Man Is Not a Bird" is set in a mining town in Yugoslavia, where apparently the temporary populace has been hypnotized into moving to by the Party. As a result of so many unattached men and so much alcohol, sexual violence is rampant, starting with a stabbing incident where a woman was singing.(To be perfectly honest, I do not think it was her singing the men were getting hot and bothered about.) Barbul(Stole Arandjelovic) not only has a mistress but gives her his wife's(Eva Ras) dresses which she is, of course, apoplectic about. He works at a smiting plant where Jan(Janez Vrhovec) is installing turbines and has rented a room from Rajka(Milena Dravic). Everything you need to know about or could possibly want to know about the film "Man Is Not a Bird" is in its title. Or look at it this way, man is not a migratory creature by nature. However, some people prefer a vagabond lifestyle and there is nothing wrong with this. The problem comes as it does in modern day China, as shown in the documentary "The Last Train Home," where the migrating workforce has led to the disintegration of families throughout the country. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the greatest of all debut films, Dusan Makavejev's startlingly original free form depiction of life in and around a mining factory in Communist Yugoslavia. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Another great, unconventional film from Makavejev. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Excellent debut from Makavejev. It's more conventional than the films that follow but it's still a bitter and smart work. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member I'd like to think that if I ever took a job on the road in a ore factory and ended up staying with a hairdresser from town that was oddly attracted to me despite the fact that I was probably as old as the mine itself, it would turn out like this. Of course, we may have to take out the dueling storyline about the guy who abuses his wife, works in the factory and has a general disposition of "grumpiness," and that whole sidetrack about hypnosis would have to go since stage hypnosis is about as authentic as this $3 sitting to my right. But otherwise, this would be my story. And Makavejev would confirm this newfound fact I just discovered that he is capable of making a good narrative ("W.R." was all over the map and despite "Sweet Movie" having something resembling a story, that was in no way a good movie). Yeah, there is a lot going on in under 90 minutes and most of it works (sorry awards ceremony and hypnotist guy... you had purpose but amounted to yawns from me) and neither of our lead dudes are going to light up the screen with their talents (save for Milena Dravic who is adorable beyond belief)... and actually, this sort of docu-drama hybrid we have going on doesn't really do justice to either genre... but trust me when I say this is still worth a watch, especially if you want to see what Makavejev is capable of. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Man Is Not a Bird

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Movie Info

Synopsis A Serbian engineer (Janez Vrhovec) falls for a younger woman (Milena Dravic), but he is inept at courtship.
Director
Dusan Makavejev
Screenwriter
Dusan Makavejev
Production Co
Paramount
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Serbian
Release Date (DVD)
Oct 13, 2009
Runtime
1h 12m