Review of Before the Rain (1994) by Gregory G — 31 Jan 2014
Extraordinary. Writer-director Milcho Manchevski's debut feature is set in his native Macedonia (formerly Yugoslavia) where individual lives are ravaged by religious and ethnic strife following the civil war in Bosnia.
This is a sophisticated drama told in a circular structure with three interlocking stories that lead to sectarian violence. In the first segment, an Orthodox monk, who has taken a vow of silence, helps an Albanian Muslim girl escape from the authorities.
The second segment, set in London, involves a photo editor (Katrin Cartlidge) torn between her husband and her lover, a Macedonian photographer (Rade Serbedziga), and are unexpectedly confronted with the aftermath of war.
The final segment returns to Macedonia where the photographer hopes to reunite with a lost love, an Albanian widow, but finds that neighbors and friends are now enemies. These previous stories are connected to the last and have a tragic resolution.
This is an ambitious, unostentatious, and despairing view of war atrocities that is emotionally overpowering. Vast, rugged landscape photographed by Manuel Teran, provide a hauntingly lyrical backdrop to the war torn region.
Music is by Anastasia. In Macedonian, Albanian, and English with subtitles.
This review of Before the Rain (1994) was written by Gregory G on 31 Jan 2014.
Before the Rain has generally received very positive reviews.
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