Parada

When watching a movie Parade for the first time, you're not quite sure whether to laugh or to cry. Everyone in the hall laughed for a full 80 minutes and then all speechless and filled the room just sounds of the great fight scene, as a culmination of the conflict of two cultural ways of thinking. And after that, some in the audience were crying. I tried not to listen to comments of others because even I could say something bad and good about this movie and I wanted to focus my thoughts of others. Movies of acclaimed director Srdjan Dragojevic someone has to watch more than once if he want to see all the layers of stories and meanings are very important details that director intelligent runs. This movie should not be watched with prejudice on LGBT population in Serbia, because these prejudices really can not not overlook the viewer final attitude on this topic. I think that we should discuss this movie in 10 years from another angle on political and historical situation in Serbia, and than say is it good or bad movie, because it is not so simple in this moment. Complains that the film is full of clichés, and it was too easy in dealing with major problems are stupid. I think that this movie hasn't a philosophical background, the idea is to entertain and warn what can happen if we as society don't find a solution for interpersonal relationships. If this movie was just drama genre, nobody would go to watch it, because people like Dragjevic's style pleasing the audience. Of course not all who oppose the right of gay people to have their parade are hooligans and neo-Nazis as not all gay people are fine and well-meaning and feeble, but this movie does not deal with that environment, but completely opposite sides. So i don't think that this movie is Anti-Serbian, because in every place in this world you will find people like these characters, and if someone abroad will think that Serbs are mean and evil and uncivilized - after this movie, he is idiot, because even if you show the Serbs as a great and funny with many virtues, they will not like it because of the previous 20 years of media's brainwashing. If someone asked me, as the average citizen, I am not for the parade but I'm not in that gay people beating down the street. So thats not the problem with this movie. Main problem with this film is that whole scene of Parade in 2009 is fictional and it had never happen, but when you see documentary shots from Pride in 2010 after that, you can think, if you are not familiar with the events in Serbia, that it really happened too, and that the Serbs killed someone as Mirko in the parade. This film may be missing for another 10 minutes to fill some holes in the illogic of connecting scenes, which is the likely cause of the reduction of the film but it does not matter much follow the story, especially if you watch it for the second time. What bothers me is that the author is supposed to remain objective and to the side at the level of idea, regardless of the story, but the inscriptions on the end of the film chosen for his position. I have to commend the masterfully role of Goran Jevtic (MIRKO) and Hristina Popovic (PEARL), and as always in a handful of great episodic characters in Srdjan's films. Each honor for bravery in playing with themes and I think this movie is a metaphor for 'parade of society' that should be ashamed that we are where we are today.

'Parada' was the most popular film in the Berlin Festival this year, bagging both audience awards yet not the LGBT 'Teddy Award'. That illustrates both its strength and weakness as a film: intended to induce a positive image about homosexuals in a non-gay audience, it does an admirable job in combining drama and comedy, tears and laughs. Yet at the same time, the gay characters are so terribly cliché that, in a different setting, they could be also used to narrate a viciously homophobic story.

That this is not the case is due to the scriptwriting talents of Srdan Dragojevic, who makes every single character, gay or not, a walking cliché of ex-Yugoslavia. The ex-militia gangster, tattooed all over with battle reminders around bullet wounds, resorting to protecting a gay pride march at the behest of his 'slut-with-a-golden-heart' fiancée, is about as credible as the effeminate wedding planner insisting on organizing the pride in spite of organized acts of violence by a group of nationalist skinheads lead by, as it turns out, the gangster's son. Add to this the soft-hearted vet who saves his dog and turns out to be the wedding planner's partner, with whom the gangster embarks on a journey through ex-Yugoslavia to enlist the help of other ex-soldiers, who, for reasons not sufficiently explained, became his friends while being his enemies at the same time... the plot is indeed as convoluted and incredible as this summary sounds like.

Yet Dragojevic's writing constantly adds jokes and situational comedy, he reveals himself here to be indeed the creator of the beloved classic 'We are no Angels'. The eclectic mix between comedy and drama makes this pretty much a must-see, as does the tremendous success 'Parada' enjoyed at home and in its festival run. Just don't expect any real portrayal of gay life in the Balkans; having been born in Romania, I fully understand that for a homosexual in Belgrade, this film must come rather as an offense than a relief. Yet as one cannot explain quantum theory in primary school, the clichés in this film are probably a necessary evil: you have to work with what people already (believe to) know in order to educate them and change their attitude. If this film succeeds in making cliché gays more acceptable in the mainstream, then maybe this will color off into a broader acceptance of the fact that the public knows very little about homosexuality and therefore has no reason to feel threatened by it; in that case 'Parada' would have done its job of opening minds, aside of being a pretty entertaining experience.

The Parade (i keep forgetting that that's the actual title as the parade itself doesn't even happen til the last 10 or 15 minutes of the movie) is a mostly enjoyable comedic farce that starts out like a guy ritchie film (big tough gang affiliated guy gets his dog shot at and immediately wants revenge...now! but not before taking the dog to a vet and holding the vet at gunpoint to fix the dog!) you think that that British gangster tone is what's gonna dominate the rest of the film but then the guy ritchie vibe gradually gives way to a variation on The Birdcage--with the vet and his wedding planner boyfriend getting beyond tired of being signaled out for being gay (their little pink car is continually getting spray pained curses and insults on and in fact the wedding planner is part of a lgbt group planning a gay pride march that is in danger of being torn apart by a massive group of skinheads) The vet eventually gets the idea to hire the gang-boss whom he was scared of as a big burly protector for the parade--and in the process maybe, maybe teach him how to be a little more macho, and how to stand up for himself so he's not being picked on by every single person in his life outside his boyfriend (even his own dad is just such a jerk to him in one quick scene) This then turns into an Expendables kind of film as the gang-boss tries to get his old friends to help him protect the group from the raging skinheads(essentially becoming an old gang of aging but still tough as nails gang of ex mercenaries and soldiers getting back together for one last seemingly impossible mission) somehow the film also manages to mix in bits of Analyze This (trying to teach the not very macho guy to act tough to impress the other mercenaries in said gang--which was a lot like when De Niro had to try to toughen up Billy Crystal so that the other mobsters would take him seriously at the end of that movie)

Its The Birdcage Meets The Expendables basically--and you know what? the 2 movies manage to merge their plot lines together a lot smoother then you'd expect such a film that brought those 2 wildly different films to mind. It helps that the film is very well acted and very well written (and directed) Both the gang-boss and the schlubby vet who yearns to be tough emerge as very complex characters both of whom have things in their past they regret, and things in their present they love but would love to be able to appreciate more then they currently do. The interactions between the 2 men really are the heart of this film and i really think the film wouldn't be half as affecting if the 2 actors didn't have as much chemistry playing off each other as they do. They're both well acted and well written leading characters and the fact that you can feel for the both of them helps the film gets its point across that both guys essentially have much much much more in common then either one would care to admit.

The other supporting characters are pretty good too--the tough as nails fiancée of the gang-boss really steals a good number of her scenes she's in, and you can really understand why the gang-boss would do anything to continue to be engaged to her--even if its not apparent at first, it becomes clear eventually that she is the only person who both understands him and appreciates him for both who he is and who he could be (ie that he's capable of change which not even he believes for most of the movie) If the other mercenaries once they come into the story are not as well defined as the two other men and the fiancée, they at least provide a good counterpoint for the gang-boss and indeed provide a number of humorous moments all their own.

The only problem i think i had with the film overall is that when the ending hit, it was both a lot sadder then anything in the film prior to that would have made you think was coming, and somehow cements the very realness of what you were just watching. Its precisely that sadness that gives the film an unexpected depth of feeling that the film in its light hearted amusing way made you forget the film had. It really hammers home the point of the entire film we were just watching, and if some people feel that that point was more heavy handed then everything that came before--i feel like those people are overlooking just how harsh some of the insults thrown at and how scary some of the actual physical violence that was threatened at the gay couple throughout the film actually were. Also that skinhead rally and climactic parade truly were both scary, tense, and somehow also funny and heartbreaking as well. This film really does strike an amazing balancing act in terms of tone and emotion, but the film mostly manages to maintain that tone by just being good company. Its not a perfect film by any means-its goes on a little longer then it needs to, the film's other lgbt characters never really emerge as actual people, the subplot involving the gang-boss's son seemingly gets resolved out of nowhere, but you know the film is so jovial that none of that really matters, and the film itself is a rather memorable one, one that even if its mostly comedic somehow manages the neat trick of also making you care about its main two characters which carries the film a lot more then you would even think possible when the film started.

Was waiting to see the movie for a long time and it was worth the wait. It's very funny but also delivers strong message about prejudice and hate. The acting is superb. Hristina Popovic and Nikola Kojo gave excellent performance. I loved the soundtrack( some songs just stuck in my head) I believe this movie showed in humorous way what needs to be changed and what is definitely wrong in the society. And that they used some clichés. Well it's not the end of the world.

Living in the country were homosexuals have equal rights it's odd to see that there are countries where they are subjected to abuse and beating. But I do believe that this movie shows hope that this will change. Everybody deserves his/hers happiness and it's wrong to define person according to his sexual orientation. This was the main aim of the movie If even one person changed his opinion after watching this movie it served it purpose.

Having won several festival awards, among others the audience award at Berlin International Film Festival, "The Parade" (2011) is the sixth feature film by Serbian writer- director Srdjan Dragojevic. It's a well-working blend of drama and hilarious comedy.

//Mårten Larsson. Facebook page: 7thArtShortReviews (@7thArtShortRevs).