Life is a Miracle (rewatch)

One thing I really hate is losing my enthusiasm for a movie I once adored and championed.  It’s a sad feeling.  I think when I first watched this movie I was probably still coming off the high of Underground and Time of the Gypsies, ready to praise anything by Kusturica in roughly the same style.  But now I find the complaints that I first shrugged off as minor are more troublesome.  The first being the lead character.  I think Slavko Stimac is really terrific, a fine actor.  And Luka is a protagonist who earns the viewer’s affection.  But he doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of movie.  He doesn’t seem to have any particular character traits, and when he explodes at Sabaha (Natasa Tapuskovic) for wearing his wife’s clothing, we don’t have any sense of where it came from.  He’s just not developed properly.

The other problem, and maybe on a different day I wouldn’t even see it as a problem, is the broadness and zaniness of the comedy.  It’s like Kusturica trying too hard to be Kusturica.  Tonal shifts can be wonderful things, but here the humor often feels inappropriately large for a film that’s begging for slightly more subdued tones.  Vesna Trivalic’s character, Jadranka, can get away with it… we need to see how unhinged she is.  But some of the other comic moments are just too bombastic.

Still, I’m not completely dialing down my enthusiasm.  There are beautiful scenes and memorable touches throughout the film, like the lovesick mule who waits on the tracks to be hit by a train, or Luka’s sweet dream of flying in bed with Sabaha.  The film touches on many of the same anti-war themes as Underground, but does so without feeling like a rehash, taking a more humanist and less satirical viewpoint.  The music is delightful as always with Kusturica, and the performances are strong, especially Tapuskovic and Stimac (my gripes are more with the character as written than his portrayal of him).  There’s a lot of warmth and melancholy to be experienced, it just doesn’t feel quite as transcendent as it did at first.  Maybe I’ll change my mind on the next viewing.  Rating: Very Good

IMDb