What is human nature?

Grady 2022-03-23 09:02:14

Absurd, wild, imaginative, and dark humor, these words seem to be impossible to describe "Underground". In fact, I rarely watch Eastern European films, but I watched this very long film patiently. The story spans from World War II in 1941 to the Yugoslav civil war in the 1990s.

From the very beginning, the zoo was bombed by German bombers, and the animals ran into the streets, which caught my eye. The man who was sitting and eating breakfast with the roof almost knocked down was really cool. He is a brutal, irascible, fearless revolutionary, a hero born for troubled times. And his friend is cautious and cunning, and of course he is never soft-hearted in killing people. He is a hero born for troubled times. As the saying goes, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain. The hero was tricked by his friends without knowing it. He hid in the ground for 20 years without knowing it. The friend replaced him and was admired by thousands of people, and even the beloved woman was kidnapped. Those Tito Fans with lofty beliefs lived underground all year round with their families and their families, and assembled weapons for the "World War II" every day. Their next generation grows up without ever seeing what the sky looks like, and regards the moon as the sun. It's all so incredible, but come to think of it, that's human nature. Imprisoning relatives and friends underground is far more terrifying than the movies, such as the father who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years in Austria. Human domination and greed have gone far beyond their imagination.


On the other hand, the innocent people who continued to contribute to the "fight against the German army" underground maintained their faithful beliefs, sang Tito's songs every day, loved each other, and lived in a pure utopia. Without knowing the truth, their lives have not been impacted by the changing times. It's just that people have a natural desire to be free, so girls will dress up and jump into the well on their wedding night. Her body passed through the well and finally saw the light of day on the river.


In this film, there are many scenes that make people twist into a ball, such as Natalie berating Ma Gao for being a liar, such as Ma Gao shooting himself in the legs with a gun, such as Hei Zai looking at Ma Gao who died in a wheelchair And Natalie, the wheelchair is blazing, spinning around him, while Jesus hangs upside down on the cross beside him. But before the audience can brew this extreme dark pain, the mood will be interrupted by scenes of dark humor. The whole film is like a pendulum swinging back and forth between lightness and heaviness, absurdity and seriousness, criticism and forgiveness.


The theme of "Underground" is to criticize war and call for peace. This subject matter is a bit old-fashioned, but for a Yugoslav director who grew up in such a land full of disputes, the main axis of his life must be about war, and his understanding of war must be deeper than others.

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Extended Reading

Underground quotes

  • Marko: A war is no war until the brother kills his brother.

  • Marko: We're all crazy, Natalija. We just haven't been diagnosed yet.