Film Review: Dudes (Munje!, 2001)

9 months ago

(source: tmdb.org)

Hollywood would occasionally like us to believe that 1990s used to be good times, if not some sort of Arthurian golden age. In some parts of the world, that particular period had very few reasons for people to feel nostalgic about. One of those was Serbia, country that experienced economic and moral ruin due to post-Communist transition, violent collapse of Yugoslavia, UN sanctions, NATO bombings and aftershocks of being involved in brutal wars. Yet, one Serbian film maker found a way to depict that very period with nostalgia and even did it soon after that period, with little time to distort the vision of past through rosy glasses. That film maker was Radivoje Andrić, who in 2001 made comedy called Munje! (“Lightning Bolts!”), distributed in English-speaking countries under title Dudes.

The plot takes place one night in Belgrade. Pop (played by Boris Milivojević) and Mare (played by Sergej Trifunović) are two young musicians and best friends who share a dream of founding first Serbian drum and bass band. Their main problem is that they can’t make a demo tape. The only alternative appears to be their old school acquaintance Gojko Sisa (played by Nikola Đuričko) who happens to be rich and influential owner of a night club. They sell all of their possessions and advance 350 Deutsche Mark for the recording, but Gojko suddenly remembers that Pop and Mare in school used to play practical jokes on him, so he simply decides to keep the money for himself. Pop and Mare are determined to get that money back, but it soon turns out that their quest won’t be easy. At the same time they meet two attractive girls – Kata (played by Maja Mandžuka), who turns out to be Gojko’s girlfriend, and Lola (played by Milica Vujović), aspiring rock musician who needs band. They are going to be helped in the quest by drug addict nicknamed Santa Claus (played by Zoran Cvijanović).

Dudes was one of the first major hits made in Serbia after downfall of Slobodan Milošević and it represented something of a refreshment compared with films usually associated with 1990s Serbian cinema. First of all, lack of budget forced Andrić to use videotape and because of that he felt more comfortable in experimenting with style. As a result, Dudes is full of clever editing tricks, flashbacks and computer animations, while random people on the street serve as some sort of Greek chorus, delivering ironic comments on the plot. Another reason why the film looks refreshing is surprisingly relaxed attitude towards bleak realities of 1990s Serbia. Dudes shows that youth at that time tried and often succeeded in having a good time, and motive of chasing girls and pursuing rock career made some critics compare this film and its “slice of life” approach to the era to American Graffiti. The most interesting aspect of the film is Andrić’s social and cultural commentary on the incredibly wide generation gap between those Serbians that were in 30s in that period and those that were in 20s. While the former are bitter because they have lost peace and relative prosperity of the earlier era, the latter are more relaxed because they don’t know any better.

Dudes looked refreshing also because of young and relatively unknown cast. Veterans like Zoran Cvijanović (known for his role in 1980s TV series Sivi dom) and Nebojša Glogovac, who here brilliantly plays policeman, are joined by Maja Mandžuka, attractive actress who looks like Heather Graham. Dudes, however, has problem with somewhat weak and anti-cathartic ending. Yet, it is very funny and entertaining film that could be recommended even to those viewers (and there are actually quite many) that don’t feel any nostalgia towards 1990s. In 2023 Andrić directed sequel under title Dudes: Again!.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)