The Medusa Raft

The most banal movie I've ever seen. I don't like the cast, the idea, or the music. Too pathetic. By far the weakest film that the cinema library included in the 100 best domestic films 1911-1999. The strongest man in the Balkans, that huge inflatable doll, the unconvincing acting of Frano Lasic and Errol Kadic, as well as that fire at the end forced me to give the lowest possible rating. The first time I saw this movie, I felt very disconnected. I watched it one more time but I literally stopped watching it after about ten minutes. I understand that there are people who like this, but I find it completely unconvincing and pathetic.

I bumped into this movie by accident. I watched it only because I read its enthusiastic review here on IMDb. That is the reason I decided I must write my own review - to warn other people.

This is a strange movie - and not worth recommending. I think its biggest problem is jerky narrative. Consecutive scenes are connected only with presence of the same characters and their behavior is highly irrational. The most of the scenes are pointless, they look like a record of the screenwriter's stream of consciousness. It is a bit surrealistic, but if that was the filmmakers' goal, they failed miserably. It is possible to make a brilliant surrealistic movie - just think of Bunuel. Unfortunately, the makers of this movie lacked a sufficient dose of talent.

The topic chosen does not save this picture, either. More or less, it tells the story of three avant-garde rebellious artists, fascinated by communist ideas. They dream of starting a revolution: an artistic revolution, an industrial revolution, a social revolution - preferably all of them at once. Unfortunately all of this rebellion, all their pseudo-philosophical speeches are completely pathetic. If only they were presented with some irony, it could save the day, but they appear to be taken seriously. The result is the viewer is not laughing but instead he or she feels deeply embarrassed.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a particularly bad movie - it is watchable. However, with all those great movies ever made - more than one can watch in ones lifetime - I have a feeling I wasted time here. If I could get my time back I would rather watch again Bunuel's "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" or "The Milky Way".

This is a brilliant surrealistic film.

But also a fully realistic story about a time when the brave avant-guarde artists were trying to explore the unknown landscapes of human possibilities.

The contrast between two realities: the poor village and the dadaist artists is shown very smart and brings the possibility of changing the world by the art.

Unfortunately, that progressive ideals of making the world better by revealing new areas of imagination, that ruled in the first half of XX century, were crushed by the war.

And, the tragedy finishes: the artistic ideals are dead, international art brotherhood also, but, as a real disaster: Yugoslavia is also dead, as a country, but as an artistic vision of nation's brotherhood, too.

So, the art falls apart

The Medusa Raft is yet another movie where i'd feel uncomfortable to attach a number of stars to it's title. Sure, this would make comparing on IMDb easier, but would also be unjust to this somewhat forgotten Yugoslav movie.

At the very beginning it will be obvious that the story would end in tears. And if you're patient enough you'll find a surprise in the end credits. Namely, there you'd see this list of people upon whose writing The Medusa Raft has been based with that of Ljubomir Micic sticking out. Although largely forgotten in the countries of former Yugoslavia, he'd been on the frontline of European avant-garde art between World Wars.

But this also gives you an idea about the authors' intentions. Not only that contemporaries have been cited, there is a sense of overall realism in the movie. And the difference in tempo of life then and now explains why your patience is needed.

More than that, the protagonists are behaving strangely and feeling insulted when called artists. Not shy of their leftist leanings, their deeds were extreme for the times they'd lived in. Which gives you another flavor of the times depicted. From today's viewpoint this might have been a harmless and bizarre performance. But back then it could have costed your career and, even worse, might have ruined your reputation.

And in an ironical twist of fate, Second World War not only erased their castles of air but also changed the world in the way they'd never imagined.