The first film made in the newly independent Republic of Macedonia, Milcho Manchevski’s Before the Rain crosscuts the stories of an orthodox Christian monk (Grégoire Colin), a British photo agent (Katrin Cartlidge), and a native Macedonian war photographer (Rade Šerbedžija) to paint a portrait of simmering ethnic and religious hatred about to reach its boiling point. Made during the strife of the war-torn Balkan states in the nineties, this gripping triptych of love and violence is also a timeless evocation of the loss of pastoral innocence, and remains one of recent cinema’s most powerful laments on the futility of war. —The Criterion Collection
Milčo Mančevski was born in Skopje, Macedonia and studied cinema and photography at Southern Illinois University. He began his career directing music videos and short films before making his feature film debut, Before the Rain (94), which won many awards, including the Golden Lion and FIPRESCI Prize at the Venice International Film Festival and an Academy Award® nomination for best foreign language film. His other films are Dust (01), Shadows (07) and Mothers (10). –TIFF
Not as profound as Kusturica or Godard's take on the Bosnian Wars, but still well shot and decently acted. The second part initially seems quite racist, but makes sense in context. Grade: C.
An absolutely stunning debut that chronicles the lives of characters living in the war-torn Balkans in the nineties. Mančevski utilizes his reality, that is the pubescence of the nation of Macedonia, to evoke the loss of innocence in his characters and their world. Very powerful.
Ubicada durante las guerras etnicas en los balcanes, y valiendose de una estructura similar a la de los films de Iñarritu y Tarantino (pero con una concepciòn del cine bastante superior), esta pelicula marcò el extraordinario debut del joven realizador Milcho Manchevski. Entre sus muchas virtudes, la pelìcula cuenta con una de las mas impresionantes bandas sonoras de los ultimos tiempos a cargo del grupo Anastasija.
From what I’ve read at Criterion, this is deemed the first film made in the new Republic of Macedonia which officially seceded from Yugoslavia in ‘91. I thought it’d be interesting to check out based… read review
Before the Rain is a timeless ode to the futility of war. A triptych which remains suspended in the consciousness of the viewer long after the credits rolls. For here is a film with, no end? – or maybe… read review
Pulp Fiction got all the attention in 1994 for its non-linear and fragmented stories. Too bad it overshadowed another film that came out the same year and also was divided up into vignettes; one which… read review