Apsolutnih sto

I really like East-European movies a lot (perhaps because they are so realistic) but this Yugoslavian version of "Trainspotting" was one of the greatest surprises I saw this month. It's all about two brothers, one is an Olympic champion in shooting and the other is a junk. It's not so difficult to guess the champ will soon defend his brother using his skills in shooting but this movie is so fantastic made (the dialogues are great and the acting...well you have your typical Russian maffiaguys) that it is a wonderful movie that is like some videoclip...bloody fast but great to be part of the ride!

Trainspotting came to mind but mostly Pusher, the Danish film of Nicholas Winding Raph. What is interesting and fresh is the characters' profession and their environment, the two brothers are shooting, as their father did, the shooting gallery is presented as the center of these people universe, around the world of block of flats in an ugly, periferic world. From sport to killing and how political choices took over lives making it no way out. It's all about the Yugoslavian war trauma, presented from the point of view of the shooter as target. Realistic, good acting, a lot of rage and a new director with something to say. Gritty and real like a cold bullet. 8/10

I've seen this movie at its premiere in my town. It's a movie about two brothers, both talented and interesting in sport shooting. The older one - Igor is an ex world champion, but during the war in 1992 he exchanged his air rifle with a sniper and became a drug addict. His little brother - Sasa is a 19-year-old who can't stand watching his brother being humiliated and tortured by local mafiosos and drug dealers and he himself takes a sniper. The movie is really a story that shows strong emotions, such as love and hate. The emotions strong enough to make a child become a murderer. There were a few things that aren't so true. For example, shooting clubs in Belgrade, Yugoslavia aren't private property, and cannot be sold just like that. Especially the Shooting Club "Milicionar-Krcun", the one Sasa shoots for. Also, Sasa looks like a real champ when he's holding his rifle, but look at him when he's targeting. His rifle is moving enough to miss the whole target. This may sound ridiculous, but in the distance of 10m even a move of half a milimeter means a nine on the target. The 1mm could even be an eight. Off course these things aren't important at all and I'm sure that no one will even notice them. On a scale from 1 to 10, I give this movie a 9.

Original and very well done. Excellent directing, good picture of Serbian reality and position of youth in it. Pretty realistic colors when it comes to the social environment and every day life surroundings of a teenage in Serbia. Tense and original story leads you to the end watching eyes wide open. As a film-making gore I have to point out that this film was obviously made with minimum of resources and pretty ridiculous budget. Yet, it has shown a powerful result that is much more worth of watching than most of the action movies made today, generally speaking. As for few comments read, I have to underline that this film has nothing to do with Trainspoting. The only link is a drug addiction which is more background of the film. I also red a comment on one dimensional profile of the mobsters. Well, I gotta tell you that this is the realistic pattern of the criminal in Serbia. They might have different characters, but they act in the same way. The downside of the movie is bad acting of some minor roles that really irritates sometimes. Everything else deserves high score. 8 out of 10.

This film is about a family of marksmen. The father was famous, and the older brother (who reminded me of David Spade) was a world champion in his day, but has become a junkie since the war. The younger brother (who reminded me a bit of Wes Bentley) is training for a big tournament, but external events such as his brother selling the shooting range are making this increasingly difficult.

This is a film with a very energetic style, including pounding music and an injection scene that reminded me a bit of "Requiem for a Dream," but it didn't connect for me. Seen at Cinequest (the San Jose, CA film festival) on 2/28/2002.