Quem Está Cantando Aí?

I saw this film (it's English title is "Who's Singing Over There?") at the 1980 Montreal International Film Festival. It won raves then... and disappeared. A terrible shame. It is brilliant. Sublime, ridiculous, sad, and extremely funny. The script is a work of art. It's been 19 years and I've seen only a handful of comedies (or any other genre, for that matter) that can match its originality.

This "tragicomedy" written by famous Serbian theatre/film writer Dusan Kovacevic is probably one of the best movies ever made in the comedy category. And yet, its appearance of a theatre play transformed into a feature film takes nothing of its value. A masterpiece one should not miss to see (preferably with subtitles, and not dubbed).

In an aged bus en route to capital Belgrade, a looming war decides the passengers' behaviour. Two Gypsy musicians sing of their miserable life but also foresee a tragedy to come; their singing both divides and connects stages in this extraordinary road movie (real life Kostic brothers are amateur actors, but together with Stanojlo Milinkovic as farmer who's plowed the road give a real-life performance).

The spectrum of characters gives a brilliant image of a society facing a war, an insight into nation's collective person: everyone is aware that war is just about to begin but they try to live their own lives the best they can, hoping that ignorance might avert the tragedy. Using a simple movie language, director Slobodan Sijan paints a picture of society torn by previous war (World War I), but also highlights personal portraits with success: provincialism of a singer, inexperience of the newlyweds, seriousness of the Great War veteran who is on way to visit his recently conscripted son, and gloomy predictions from a man who seems to be a German spy.

Brilliant in its narration, with memorable soundtrack (especialy the Gispsy songs) and adjusted atmosphere, well photographed and edited, this feature (Sijan's feature debut) was only an introduction into a series of the directors bitter-sweet comedies that will define Serbian cinematography of the 1980s: "Maratonci trce pocasni krug", "Kako sam sistematski unisten od idiota", and my other director's favourite "Davitelj protiv davitelja").

This is as close to a perfect movie as any I have seen. "Ko to tamo peva" simply has it all - interesting human story, great historical significance, fabulous social commentary, hilarious and smart comedy.... What more could you possibly want from a movie?

One of the best Serbian films ever made, it continues to stand the test of time 22 years after its release.

I really don't want to go into description of different plot points because no amount of text can even remotely convey the atmosphere of this masterpiece. You just need to see it. Credit goes to director Slobodan Sijan and the great cast for taking Dusan Kovacevic's already fabulous text and making it into something even better.

I'm not sure if this movie has ever been translated and properly released in the West. If it has, stop at nothing to get it. You can thank me later.

I watch quite a few non English speaking films and this one certainly has to be in the highest grade.Pointless me telling you about the film as it's already been explained, but I would like to add, this really is one of the most funniest films I have ever seen, it's truly perfect in every way,full of highs and lows.

Wonderful atmosphere throughout the entire film as well as some wonderful characters, the song that runs through the film sung by two gypsies, "Za Beograd" is a wonderful toe tapping tune that was so popular that apparently it was sung and the end of most discos. I saw this film in Belgrade in 2000, I am so glad that I did, believe me when I say, this really is one film you should see before you die.

This movie is one of the funniest, saddest and most accurate portrayals of the mentality that seems to have pervaded the Balkans yet again, 45 years after the time depicted. All the usual characters and conflicts are presented with such anger, sadness and love combined that it is impossible to decide whether crying or laughing would be the more appropriate response. The accuracy of portrayal and the timelessness of the types, however, make it for a great film to watch if one wants to understand a little bit of what drove ex-Yugoslavia to its madness. In fact, no diplomat dealing with the region should attempt anything until they saw this movie, and its twin, *Maratonci trce pocasni krug.* Did I mention it is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen?