Otel «Belgrad»

This movie is fun. Light and entertaining, fast-paced, with an absurd plot and twists around every corner. Super fresh. I'm always a bit sceptical of comedies, especially Balkan comedies - I have a deep hatred of everything vulgar, and the vulgar features heavily in Balkan sense of humour. But this movie had only a small level of vulgarity - just enough to make it realistic (after all, it takes place in Serbia). The movie feels very modern and is very enjoyable. People who rated it super low clearly had unrealistic expectations: not every comedy is supposed to reveal some deep philosophical truth about the world. Cheer up, people!

People tend to take things to seriously. This is not such a movie. It's basically a charming little flick of a movie, with hints of Balkan mentality. So, if you are a Westerner watching it, chances are you might not like it. But, make an effort, just sit back and relax. I find too many commentators being too serious.

The young actor, the main protagonist, Milos Bikovic, is very popular in Serbia and Russia and has been acting in both languages and countries. He plays a rich playboy who inherited a five-star hotel in Belgrade, Serbia. His life is all about going out and dating hot women, not committing to a relationship. When he accidentally destroys a three-million euro "piece of art", a miniature statue of a urinal, he starts being chased by the Serbian mobsters. This is a parody of modern art. Anything and everything can be considered art nowadays.

Stumbling upon an old girlfriend from Russia, he speedingly shows her Belgrade - not telling her that he is being chased by the clumsy mobsters.

During their adventure, he will realise who his true love is.

Slavic and Balkan viewers will connect to the story, mentality and humor better, but Western viewers should watch this as well. Why not? Overcome your political feelings of Russia and just watch it. I liked it and had a nice laugh at times. Just give it a try.

In this sense, the presence with his shocking sense of humor, would comment on it as if we celebrate every year 100 years of our liberation from something..!?..!? Such thoughts and feelings have always existed and it is better that they were presented in the premiere than not..!? It's formulaic and can hardly be described as good in any artistic sense, but viewers who pay to see it, and many, many people will, will get exactly what they want. Just a bunch of spotty sketches thrown together that won't satisfy anyone except all I could reasonably hope for, scary funny, desperately sad, with lots of bold visual flourishes. Like the original, it's a winning combination of lowlife and a real-life spin. Wiser, sadder, but very much alive and fast, who knows you can't compete with the ghosts of the past. But at least you can dance with them. The change in tone in the sequel compared to the original means that while there are plenty of moments of wild humor, the highs just aren't as high anymore. There is, however, a melancholic maturity that is satisfying in its own way. Like the original, it's happy enough to spend time with its characters, whatever they're doing. Very little that happens in the film seems to have any impact on the direction it's going, and the few things that do really feel like an afterthought, almost like an afterthought. It's also littered with callbacks to the first movie..!? As exciting as subtle, others tantalizingly sweet. It's great in places, but too often it drags in a pool of its own despondency, a miserable and melancholic film that almost seems a little embarrassed to be. In some ways it shares elements with its namesake. Made an admirable effort that captures the melancholy of being right back where you started. But it is not what it was or what it could have been. It's great to see them back together, they look pretty good for their age and there are some amazing moments when they play the hits. But the set goes on a bit long and the new material is a bit forgettable, and they're more sloppy than before, and by the end you start to wonder if it wouldn't have been better if you were left with your memories of the past. A missed opportunity on many levels, it's a stylistically cluttered remake that relies heavily on over-caffeinated camera work and flashy effects the brutal feel..!?

The film is in the genre of comedy melodrama. It's cute, heartwarming, light, warm, with beautiful views of the Danube.

Sometimes funny, sometimes it makes you see the reality of Serbia, with its poor villages and its unemployed inhabitants, a kind of mix of humor on the background of the "exotic" for us.

Milos Bitkovic is sweet, tactful, and personally I was a little disappointed, but I think after "Magomaev", you already expect something more from the actor than just a nice guy... In general, a pleasant, light, strained comedy, unloads the brains, gives an opportunity to see Belgrade, the village of Serbia virtually, I wanted to visit... um... this country) in this day and age...

The story is really crude and simple, but this movie is part of a wider "universe" of content, namely the popular Russian comedy shows "Kukhnya" (Kitchen) and "Otel Eleon" (Hotel Eleon). This film is one of the spin-offs/continuations of these shows, the other ones being "FedyaSenya" and "Grand". It's simple comedy, not a higher art form, but I personally enjoy it very much. This content also helped me a great deal with learning Russian. So before you decide to watch this, if it's even possible you stumble upon it/hear about it without previously having heard of the content family it belongs to, please watch the other shows first. They are genuinely entertaining.