Rane

This film was my first exposure to life in Serbia – to life on a battlefield – after society and its rules have deteriorated to dust. Right and wrong yield to anarchy and savagery. It reminded me of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. At the end of the day, under the right circumstances, base human behaviors creep out. Morality comes from our environment. When civilization standards fall, values are lost. Citizens will degrade their fellow citizens to improve their own security, doing whatever they have to do. In Wounds, the surviving behavior emerges in the celebrated lifestyle of a gangster.

Pinki's narration is straight from the gut. He's 20 something at the end, and thinks of himself as an old man. The way he and kraut do the things they do, you just know they could get away with it.

It's a well told, thoroughly enjoyable Tour d'anarchy. Gruesome but real. 8.5 / 10.0

Dark, bleak, hopeless, harsh, uncompromising, periodically injected with black humor, but overall quite powerful - Srdjan Dragojevic's follow-up to "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame," weaves a tragic coming of age story in Yugoslav capital Belgrade during the turbulent 90's with all the sharp cultural, social, political references and critique one could ask for. This film actually fits more along the lines of "Cabaret Balkan," except that "Rane" has this gangster twist to it. Among the supporting actors I noticed a lot of familiar faces such as Miki Manojlovic, Dragan Bjelogrlic, Branca Katic, Nikola Kojo, who you may be familiar with from films like "Underground," "Black Cat, White Cat," above mentioned "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame" and "Cabaret Balkan" and such. Definitely recommended if you are interested in Serbia/Yugoslavia or Serbian film making.

It's the disturbing reality of 2 working class youths in Belgrade: a life of crime. What makes this movie brilliant is that it does not romanticise our young criminals. Around the world, desperate youths turn to crime for survival and status elevation. We have it in South Africa. City of God tried to show it as it is in Brazil, but Rane has managed to capture the heart of it all. Humour and sincerity are at the heart of this film's success. It's powerful.

And the television show in the movie, where they interview criminals as heroes is not fantasy. This TV show was broadcast in reality. It's a weird world, but it is our world. Each moment of this film, you wonder if you should close your eyes, you anticipate something bad. Yet, I was totally inspired afterwards.

One of those in UR face, intense, violent pieces that U won't soon forget...tells the story of three youths and how their lives are shaped by their war-torn surroundings...never had any idea that this movie was going to be so RAW...whoa...a cross between "Natural Born Killers" and "Scarface"...

How easy is it for desperate youngsters to become dangerous gangsters in a decaying society washed all over by the blood of war? Fairly easy indeed. Rane shows incidents, probably somewhat facts, that took place in Serbia of the war era. Things similar to what you see on this film could happen virtually everywhere, but this film gives a very Yugoslavian feeling to everything. Yugo style mafia, Yugo style murder, and all that. Revolting politicians and their greed are to blame, not only the desperate young men who lose their reasoning while trying to be someone. The film and the casting is overall successful, and it's so very Serbian. I recommend it to anyone who.. well anyone who likes a good film. But don't expect anything American style on this one, as I say it's Yugo to the bone. 9/10.