Before the Rain (1994)
The circularity of violence seen in a story that circles on itself. In Macedonia, during the war in Bosnia, Christians hunt an ethnic Albanian girl who may have murdered one of their own. A young monk who's taken a vow of silence offers her protection. In London, a photographic editor who's pregnant needs to talk it out with her estranged husband and chooses a toney restaurant.
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Wonderful Movie
Redundant and unnecessary.
It is a performances centric movie
an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.
A recent trend in films is to present plots non-sequentially. This isn't done all the time, of course, but this radical way of constructing a plot have simply been overused in recent years. For me, the novelty has definitely worn off. Because of that, I wasn't as impressed with "Before the Rain" and many other reviewers.This film consists of three stories--all which relate to Macedonia and ethnic violence. However, while at first the three stories only seem to have this as the common thread, some of the characters also appear in multiple stories--making one larger story about hatred and ethnic violence. Story 1 is about an Albanian woman who is being sought by Christian Macedonians--and she's being sheltered by a monk who has taken a vow of silence.Story 2 is about a pregnant Brit whose lover is Macedonian. He has been living abroad for many years but leaves to go back--and leaves her behind pregnant. When she meets her husband to ask for a divorce, BAD things happen somewhat out of the blue.Story 3 shows the man in 2 in Macedonia and his return isn't as happy as he'd hoped.Each story is well done and interesting. The acting and direction are also quite nice. But as I indicated above, I am personally tiring of non-sequential films and the novelty has worn off for me. Well done but I am not in love with the film.
This is a 3 part film depicting events during the complex civil war in what use to be Yugoslavia. The first and third parts are set in the Balkans and for the most part are touching and authentic. A photographer returns to his homeland to witness the fracturing of it into war. This is well depicted in the movie - how communities that use to co-exist peacefully can somehow, through a tortured religious history,group pressure.. . gradually fracture into warring tribes. Another centerpiece of this story is a young girl forced to leave her village to try and save her life. The second part is mostly disconnected from part 1 and 3. The English woman is pregnant and having marital problems, there is a mafia style shoot-up in a bar. It is entirely irrelevant to the themes presented in 1 and 3. Part 2 should have been edited to coalesce with 1 and 3. The only reason for the second installment is to provide a back-drop for the photographer to return, after a long absence, to his native land and witness the fissures developing. Also in part 2 we see photographs of the execution of the fleeing young woman,but at this stage the photographer was already dead!!
To me, this movie conveys the ESSENCE of war. The very start...Profound. Genius. This is how war happens. And it is so very, very sad.If only people could think back to this point in their very own lives (yes, you) and be less rigid and more forgiving and less focused on detailed "rules and regulations".. Each person and each action or non-action counts.Beautifully acted and beautiful, haunting music. Although I have seen it several years ago, "Before the rain" keeps coming up in my mind because of conflicts all around us in the world. Unfortunately the story is very much alive today and I'm afraid it will be for a long time.
Before the Rain is an allegory. Before the rain is the air heavier and flies bites and the same before civil war in former Jugoslavia. People starting to show their hidden hate and all are preparing for the war. Old friends become hostiles and the common sense is going to fade away. People are forgetting the value of one's life and young boys are becoming great soldiers with guns in hands. And as a summer storm the war is spreading and thunders warn us about its nearness.It shows the story of world-wide famous photographer who comes back home after many years spent in wars but finds again the war and the same story of man's foolishness. The way how was this movie made in kind of retrospective (in curious way) and marks the metaphorical thought mentioned in the title above (by the mouth of the priest). Next to all these there is shown a pure young love and some religious scenes as well.