Bal-Can-Can (2005)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Darko Mitrevski

Writer:

Darko Mitrevski (writer)

Release Date:

31 May 2007 (Poland)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama | War

Tagline:

Laughter, Tears, Fear, Passion... And a Granny Wrapped In a Carpet!

Plot:

A Macedonian military deserter and his Italian blood-brother are searching for a dead grandmother wrapped up in a stolen carpet, all over the Balkan's criminal underworld. |

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Vlado Jovanovski	...	Trendafil Karanfilov
Adolfo Margiotta	...	Santino Genovese
Zvezda Angelovska	...	Ruza Karanfilova
Branko Djuric	...	Sefket Ramadani
Antonella Troise	...	Lara
Jelisaveta Sablic	...	Zumbula (as Seka Sabljic)
Toni Mihajlovski	...	Dzango Sapun
Emil Ruben	...	Dr. Safarafov
Miodrag Krivokapic	...	Veselin Kabadajic
Petre Arsovski	...	The Gravedigger (as Petar Arsovski)
Goran Ilic	...	The Policeman
Petar Bozovic	...	Savo
Dejan Acimovic	...	Mate Prkacin
Nikola Kojo	...	Osman Rizvanbegovic
Vasko Todorov	...	Vitomir

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Italy | Republic of Macedonia | UK

Language:

Albanian | Macedonian | Bulgarian | Serbo-Croatian | Russian | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Filming Locations:

Macedonia

Company:

Partysans Film

Trivia:

The main villain of the movie, Sefket Ramadani, is named after a fictional mobster from "Hadzija il' Bos", a popular song by "Zabranjeno Pusenje". Also, the first words that Ramadani speaks are taken from the song: "Posao je dobar, a para laka!" ("The job is good, and the money is easy").

Soundtrack:

Baba Zumbula

Genius Allegory

Anyone familiar with politics and history in the Balkans, particularly in Macedonia, can have it all summed up here. It's a brilliant allegory for the state in which the Balkans exist now. For example, each character represents a different region, and the order of their deaths is significant (most obvious is the death of Ruza's Father (Marshall Tito) before Baba Zumbula (Yugoslavia)). The loss of Baba Zumbula sends Ruza (Serbia) and Trendafil (supposed parts of Macedonia under Serbian and Bulgarian jurisdiction) into a panic and a fruitless search.

These are just a few of the allegories you can find, and if you search hard enough, a picture of the Balkans will be painted for you. Although I expected this film to be funny, and it lost much of its humor (though not all... it was mainly dark and bittersweet) about halfway through, I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable. The characters have interesting chemistry and the casting is excellent. It's definitely a thinking film in the guise of a pop culture reel of a wild road trip.

See this if you get a chance!