Who's Singin' Over There? (1980)

At first sight, Who's Singing Over There just seems to be an absurd and excellent comedyÂ… with only a kind of unusual, quiet and slow motion : what a mistake !

Beginning with two singers on a desert landscape, then a bus and a wonderful bunch of actors, it hides a gem !

The folded story, and a false rhythm induces you to think, yes it is comic, but just lets you guess it will be a gentle kind of movie.

Not at all : very funny by instant, dark subtle cynical on others, its development surprises you all along the storyÂ… Very ingeniously and cleverly presented, all the characters are important, and the actors give them full life.

And what is astonishing, it's based on deep observation, great mastering of the camera work and has a great meanings, and really everything, the general direction and how also the details are presented, that it simply makes you forget it's a movie: it is like to watch a kind human society, you yet don't know,shot by a friend behind a camera.

And you're the one behind him. It is simple, and simply exceptional !

Don't misunderstand me; in no way that would means the script , the quality of picture, the music score have a kind of amateurish way, no, no ! It's great Art !

Because it flows like a riverÂ… From high up in the mountain, down to the sea, with all the different sort of grounds and peregrinations that a real river will face on its journey to the seaÂ… from a tiny thing to a main stream.

This metaphoric image I used is the very best way I can find to explain all the charm that has Who's Singing Over There. For me, again, I take the hammer : simply exceptional...

I've seen that The Director is the one who made Chat Blanc/Chat Noir, which I know is quiet famousÂ… But as I yet didn't see it, I had no idea about this gentleman.

Others reviewers wrote dithyrambical comments on that film, I fully agree !

European Eastern Cinema is not well know because seldom translated, but I am lucky to have this exemplar one in original language, with good English subtitles. All in all : deep, delicious and exceptional...

For fast and empty exploding types and special effect buffs, avoid it at any cost, it may be too subtle and good for you !

But if you're interested in different genres and/or classics, I guess you won't regret this one, and in case of buying, it will have good companionship in your personal DVD library, with such no less than merited big names like Billy Wilder, Lubitsch, or Sacha Guitry among some of my preferred directors . At least for this movie !

***A film is never really good unless the camera is an eyes in the head of a poet Orson Welles***

Fmovies: I watch quite a few non English speaking films and this one certainly has to be in the highest grade.Pointless me telling you about the film as it's already been explained, but I would like to add, this really is one of the most funniest films I have ever seen, it's truly perfect in every way,full of highs and lows.

Wonderful atmosphere throughout the entire film as well as some wonderful characters, the song that runs through the film sung by two gypsies, "Za Beograd" is a wonderful toe tapping tune that was so popular that apparently it was sung and the end of most discos. I saw this film in Belgrade in 2000, I am so glad that I did, believe me when I say, this really is one film you should see before you die.

One of my favourite "domestic" movies. I don't know if there is any person in our country who hasn't seen this movie! It's funny, and sad at some moments...I don't know how did people around the world (who had opportunity to watch it) accept this movie, because you have to know some moments in our serbian history and character of Serbs in the first half of the 20th century, to be able to understand it! But as I see here, there is somebody from Canada who watched it...and he liked it.

I think that I'll try to put all good quotes from the movie on this site, but first to find out how to do that...

Cheers.

Who's Singin' Over There? fmovies. The group of people are travelling to Belgrade in an awful bus led by a drunk conductor and his dumb son (who likes to drive with his eyes closed). Their journey is frequently interrupted by many hilarious events which with much irony describe the fall of nation`s spirit in 1941 and are so funny that they are even today used as a common jokes. The man who "steals the show" is a peasant 4 feet tall with his 4 sons who are almost two times bigger than him. In the end, the movie takes one dramatical turn and the trip becomes nothing but a swan`s song of a dying country.

"Ko to tamo peva" is one of the best films I ever saw. A tragicomedy with very deep implications on the fate of humankind shown through the eyes of seemingly very plain and common people from a God-forsaken Serbian province just before the start of the World War II. I saw it in a small movie theater in Russia where the film had had a very limited distribution, and I had no chance to come across it ever since. It is such a pity that this excellent film is almost forgotten now. I searched for a VHS or DVD copy of it many times, and alas - could find none. I would be most grateful to other fans of this little gem of movie-making for a suggestion of the ways to purchase a copy.

Actually I'm surprised there were so many comments about this movie. I saw it as part of a Slavic film festival at a major American University. But nobody in USA has heard of it, which is a real shame! The dynamics between the people are what makes it both funny and sad. They are stuck together on a long bus trip--someplace most of us have been!! But I never had one like this!!

My favorite scene is the one where they stop for the funeral. Then the man & woman sneak off for some Lovemaking in the forest but everybody follows them to watch without them knowing! Just as she raises her skirt and he enters her all the way--the consumptive starts hacking & they realize everybody is watching!! Talk about surprised! But...you really have to feel for them even if it is hilariously funny! When you see the ending it is sort of ironic that they enjoyed themselves while they did! Serb humor at it's best!