Customer Reviews

Black Cat, White Cat [VHS]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Kusturica began focusing on the Roma culture most prominently in his movie, "Time of the Gypsies," revisiting this theme in later works either indirectly ("Arizona Dream") or with unabashed flirtation ("Underground"). In "Black Cat, White Cat," these talented musicians are center stage, and you won't take your eyes off them from the time they are tied up in a tree until they march off with their infectious brass beat in the sunset.

The plot follows a young Roma who falls for the village tomboy, but is promised to marry a lovely, albeit height-impaired, ganster's daughter as a result of a poker game. The young couple attempts to circumvent this arrangement by slipping away from their fate much like the silver fish in "Arizona Dreams." The high-charged get-me-out-of-here wedding scene is driven by the gypsy music which feeds the young couple's desperation, the ganster's testosterone levels, and the guests' oblivion, all of which is done very tongue-in-cheek by caricaturizing aspects of Balkan culture. If you like your humor black, you'll dig this movie.

One of the most purely entertaining and recommendable movies I have ever seen, "Black Cat White Cat" is a sensory overload.

Start with the stunning visuals. The ramshackle, anarchic sets are as exotic as have ever been captured on film, somewhere in the same neighborhood as the bar in "Star Wars," the villages in the Mad Max films, and the town from "Welcome to Woop Woop" (that last reference is probably more obscure that "Black Cat White Cat").

The relentless story set against that backdrop is as multifaceted, kinetic, and darkly comic as anything Quentin Tarantino has been associated with, albeit here everything is linear and easy to follow. Not getting into the details -- although it would be fair to call this some sort of a gangster movie -- this film is loaded with storytelling cliches which thankfully breathe new life when set among the gypsies. The plotlines weave together in a logical, satisfying way, although you probably won't catch onto just what all those plots are until late in the game. And the whole time, Kusturica and company move things along with a sense of slapstick comic timing that harks back to the Marx Brothers.

The knockout punch -- indeed, the soul of "Black Cat White Cat" -- is the music. The manic gypsy soundtrack shifts from sweet and melodic to crazed and bombastic, but always with enough of a smirking streak to maintain the film's air of goofy mischief. This is a movie which stays coherent due to the sheer force of its own whimsy. [A side note, since everybody who sees the movie will walk away humming this song: "Pit Bull," the soundtrack's only detour off of gypsy music, is an unlikely pop hit (it was huge in Europe, where people actually SAW this movie) but taken with the film's hilarious and memorable context, it works perfectly. Not so on just the CD soundtrack, however; I found myself needing the disco gangster visual, letting me know that it was Kusturica's synthesis and not just the song that made the moment.] Anyway, this is an excellent soundtrack that begs to be bought, but to the best of my knowledge and experience, it is impossible to find in the US (remember that next time you travel to Europe, and don't forget to look under "Chat Noir Chat Blanc").

All in all, this is a true gift of a movie, and for my money, a better introduction to Emir Kusturica than the more serious (but very good) "Underground." Here, you're pretty much guaranteed a smile on your face -- and maybe the beginning of a beautiful friendship (with the film).

THis is one of the funniest movies I have recently seen. Set in the mid ninties in Serbia, the movie is about a family of fuel-smuggling gypsies during the embargo against Yugoslavia. When the entrepreneurial, but somewhat stupid main character gets cheated to buy water instead of fuel, all hell breaks loose. In order to save his skin, he has to marry off his son to the midget sister of a local "mafia" boss, while hiding from the world that his own father has died. After an hour and a half of pure pleasure and fun for the viewer, all the conflicts that arise from this situations are happily resolved.

A comedy of situations, Black Cat White Cat is brilliant and will jerk tears of laughter from your eyes. The music is amazing as well.

There is no way to summarize the plot of this film, except to say it's what you'd get if you dropped the Marx Brothers into Gypsy culture and stirred it all up. It's wild, crazy, and filled with music and dancing and unforgettable characters (played by real actors and actresses, not Hollywood ken-and-barbie dolls). You either like this kind of thing, or you don't. Astoundingly, some don't. Go figure! For me, it's a joy to watch.

Us poor American-speaking provincials are fortunate to have "Underground" and - recently - "When Father Was Away on Business" on DVD. PLEASE put "Black Cat, White Cat" on DVD, too!! After "Underground", it's my Kusturica favorite.

The sublime goofiness of this movie is hard to describe; you really must see it for yourself. But some of its virtues are: it manages to be a classic farce, without ever seeming stylized; it showcases and celebrates the glorious music of the Romany people in almost every frame, while keeping the convoluted narrative running; it presents even its densest, dopiest, kookiest and weirdest characters as full human beings, not stereotypes; and, not least, it presents a number of farm animals in juicy cameo roles (the car-eating pig ought to get some kind of "Best Performance by a Barnyard Animal" prize). The title characters, for example, appear in almost every crucial scene, and end up making the happy ending possible.

Young lovers, lonely hearts, domineering grandparents, stupid con-artists, cokehead gangsters and flocks of geese make up the world of "Black Cat, White Cat," always accompanied by torrents of music. If loony, generous, dark humor appeals to you, you'll love this wonderful, humane, totally delicious movie.

At the times when actors are starting to serve as a mere addition to computer-genereated scenes, films like BC/WC are real gems to nurse. The script presents a real original story (not an ... "Rambo-10" or "Star Wars-99" kind of hudred-times-chewed-gum [adding artificial flavour, you can still find a stupid who would chew it once more ...]), the director really directs (not a "let's spend somehow another 10 minutes till the next detonation"), the actors are really acting (not a kind of "Spiderman does it better than Superman"). Living in Europe I had a chance to buy BC/WC (at last!) on a DVD - it's just a shame that American isolationism goes that far, that if a film was not made in Hollywood, or is not English spoken, or even hasn't got an Oscar - it's not worth publicity. I suppose, that people who like Q. Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, or Coen bros productions, they would acclaim this film, too. So - on the 5* scale I give it --- 10! ... :-)

This movie is one of my favorites, and definitely one of the best to come out of any country in the last few years. It is absolutely hilarious! I won't go too much into plot -- gangsters, romance, and a uproariously funny ending (and beginning, and middle), plus subtitles that are in a nice yellow so they're easy to read. The music score is great (I wish there was a soundtrack on CD) and the acting is excellent... I have seen two of Kusturica's other movies, and this is by far the best, although the others were very good too. You will not regret buying this movie, and I would recommend it to anyone!

The fastest 129 minutes you will ever spend reading subtitles. I've seen BLACK CAT, WHITE CAT around 10 times now and every time I don't want it to end cause I'm having too much fun.

A brief description of the plot would be the adventures of some Gypsy mobsters, a forced wedding and a guy climbing out of the basement of an outhouse and cleaning himself off with a live duck, but really no description can do this film justice cause it is lightning paced madness from beginning to end.

The coked out mobster singing and dancing at the wedding is one of the funniest scenes in movie history. I love this movie!

Kidnap the Marx Brothers, get them really high, then crank everything up three or four turns beyond that and turn them loose on Danube Gypsy culture. What do you get? "Black Cat, White Cat" - a highjacked trainload of fuel, a walking tree stump, a collapsing outhouse, and the dead come back to life. How could you not love this film!?

Why doesn't someone release this insane, inspired Kusturica film in Region 1?? We've got "Underground" (almost as wonderful), "Do You Remember Dolly Bell?", and "When Father Was Away on Business", with "Time of the Gypsies" on the way. When do we get "Black Cat, White Cat"??

Kusturica's films always employ a certain level of the fantastic, and this film is no exception. Essentially it is a comic romp compared with his previous film, Underground. All the same actors appear here, basically, but confusing arrangements and promises that must be kept come in the way of what the characters really want. It is a lovely story. Manic at times and a bit too long, but great and fun for lack of more sophisticated praise.