Schwarze Katze, weißer Kater (1998)

Schwarze Katze, weißer Kater: Directed by Emir Kusturica. With Bajram Severdzan, Srdjan ‘Zika’ Todorovic, Branka Katic, Florijan Ajdini. Matko and his son Zare live on the banks of the Danube river and get by through hustling and basically doing anything to make a living. In order to pay off a business debt Matko agrees to marry off Zare to the sister of a local gangster.

“Emir Kusturicau0026#39;s films all pulsate wildly to the wonderful sounds of authentic gypsy music. Guitars, fiddles, accordians and all manor of horns are as much a part of their lives as eating and sleeping.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSong and dance feature heavily in u0026quot;Black Cat, White Cat,u0026quot; Kustruicau0026#39;s finest and most complete film to date. The music isnu0026#39;t really a soundtrack, but is largely, physically written into each scene (performed with gusto by musicians who often follow the characters around). Indeed, the u0026#39;bad-guyu0026#39; character of Dadan scarcely has a scene where he isnu0026#39;t swinging or dancing along to something (even a bizarre pop/rock song makes a comic cameo). But the other characters have their musical moments as well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Black Cat, White Catu0026quot; has a large cast and a sprawling storyline, largely resolving around two gangsters – Dadan and the hapless Marko – and their attempts to outwit each other. Things come to a head when Dadan tries to force Markou0026#39;s son to marry his spinster sister as a repayment for one of his fatheru0026#39;s debts.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut the plot is largely unimportant in a film of this type. The viewer is simply swept away in a good natured deluge of funny lines, inventive slap-stick, unusual settings and colourful supporting characters (a particular favourite: the old man who continually re-watches the last two minutes of u0026quot;Casablancau0026quot;). All you need to do is sit back and enjoy. Oh…and listen to the music.”