Cinema
Before the Rain
Пред дождот
Milcho Manchevski · 1994
Synopsis
Three stories that answer one another in a loop. In "Words", at the monastery, the young monk Kiril, bound by a vow of silence, hides Zamira, a young Albanian woman whom villagers are seeking for murder. In "Faces", in London, Anne, a photo editor, hesitates between her husband and the Macedonian photographer Aleksandar Kirkov, a Pulitzer Prize winner just back from Bosnia. In "Pictures", Aleksandar returns to his native village, where hatred between Orthodox and Muslim neighbours is smouldering.
Context
The author's first feature, shot in a newly independent Macedonia, the film was co-produced by Vardar Film, Aim Productions and the French company Noé; it brings together Rade Šerbedžija, Katrin Cartlidge, Grégoire Colin and Labina Mitevska and mixes Macedonian, Albanian and English. Its circular structure is inspired by Aleksandar Petrović's Tri. Released in France on 16 November 1994, it was nominated for the Oscar for best foreign-language film, a first for Macedonia.
Who it is for
To see how a Macedonian filmmaker filmed, at the very moment it was tearing the Balkans apart, the mechanics of vengeance between communities.
Prizes and reception
Golden Lion in Venice in 1994, shared with Vive l'amour, the film received some thirty other awards, including the Independent Spirit Award.