I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Powerful

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

If you like to watch international movies in order to learn about other people, eras or mentalities, this is a must see. Described by Emir Kusturica as the best Yugoslav movie ever made, many would agree, showing the Balkan people in their essence. Original, fun and witty, it might not have the same impact on the international viewer as it has on the locals, who get the in-jokes and context only too well. But it still has plenty to offer. This is an authentic movie about people from one of the most screwed up parts of Europe, whose dark humor is inherent in the blood in their veins and the air in their lungs, often toxic and harsh, but that needs to be survived.

As others wrote: this movie is a must if you go to the Balkans. Although I am not sure whether you can acquire the sense of sarcasm needed to understand the communication of people in the region. Unfortunately, today's movie standards are too focused on action and excitement that could explain why this movie faded out from cinema. I truly appreciate that the movie is simple and does not involve unnecessary motives. The good example is the two gypsy singers: their songs deliver very little new information but as they keep reappearing, their strange performance gets a higher-level meaning that burns into the viewer's memory.

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!

Superbly developed characters into the lots of funny situations full of spirit, absurdness and Serbian mentality. Movie is a great comedy, enjoyable, interesting, unpredictable. Best point in a film: characters, then humor itself, story and dialogs. Humor has 'inner development' , rare in Serbian movies. So, it is consequence of characterization, is well motivated, spontaneous and cogent. Also it is sharp, intelligent and lucid. Most of the movies, unfortunately, had constructed humor (devise a joke and put it into a characters's mouth) or ordinary situation comedy, burlesque, farce. Some of the 'art immortality' are incorporated in this movie. Little masterpiece, hardly reachable.