Crni bombarder

It has been for a fact that artists can see way ahead their time. Artists of former Yugoslavia were no different. What was exceptional in their case, however, was that they were not following their "inner feelings", but were making logical assumptions based on actual occurrences. In 1990 and 1991, artists from all Republics of Yugoslavia were trying to tell the people that something really, really bad is going to happen.

Of course, nobody listened.

Crni Bombarder is a film about a guy who has a radio show, which is very popular. The radio show is very popular for its honesty to its listeners about the situation in the country, which is very near to a civil war. However, he suffers from temporary amnesia, meaning every time he wakes up in the morning, he has no recollection of anything that happened to him the previous night.

Of course, because of his show, he is wanted by the state authorities... etc. etc.

The story itself is a cliche, and, on my humble opinion, wasn't the primary concern of the director and the screenwriter.

The film was supposed to awake the people, telling them that the war will brake out in case they don't do something about it. All scenes, every dialogue, everything was a warning, an explanation in pictures and words that something wrong is going to happen.

Unfortunately, the film was released in late 1992, and by then, over 65% of the country was engaged in brutal, bloodthirsty, civil war...

Darko Bajic didn't only direct but has also collaborated on the script of The Black Bomber. From today's standpoint, here he was at his peak as an author which, on the other hand, resulted in a mediocre movie.

The production was rather good for the time of it's creation and the setting might have been called revolutionary for the place where it had been made. This feature film offered a rather bleak vision of near future to the youth of the era, in particular the youth of Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, the authors guessed some of the things right.

On the positive side, there are glimpses of end-of-the-century atmosphere of Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World (1991) or even Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days (1997). And Radio Boom is thinly veiled Radio B92 which had an important role in Serbia in 1990's.

On a less positive note, Crni Bombarder suffers from poor writing, which continues to plague Serbian cinematography even today. Valid for both the plot and the dialogs, it makes even accomplished experienced actors such as Danilo "Bata" Stojkovic sound fake.

Movie that represent inner discussion of lost generations. Filmed in Serbia, however can be projected all over the world, in history and future.

Strong message about destiny and freedom.