Overview
A night of chaos and desperation unfolds in the heart of a city on the brink.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- bleak
- sardonic
- volatile
- arthouse film night
- political cinema viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a sharp, unsettling, and darkly comic ensemble portrait of a society damaged by violence and political collapse.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Around twenty characters cross paths during one night through buses, taxis, apartments, gyms, and streets in Belgrade.
The film frames rage, humiliation, betrayal, and sudden violence as a grotesque cabaret of postwar urban life.
The characters' poverty, black-market activity, ethnic tensions, and casual violence reflect the aftermath of the breakup of Yugoslavia.
One night in mid-1990s Belgrade concentrates economic hardship, interpersonal resentment, and public danger into recurring urban encounters.
Films like Cabaret Balkan, and why
Short Cuts
interlocking urban stories, moral volatility, dark comedy, and episodic crime-driven tension
Pulp Fiction
multi-character structure, abrasive humor, social disintegration, and heightened urban violence
Babel
fragmented ensemble storytelling, bleak political atmosphere, and interconnected personal crises
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
European social realism, post-conflict anxiety, and tragicomic examination of fractured communities
Movie Details
- Director
- Goran Paskaljević
- Release Date
- 1998-08-01
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (31)
Cast
- Nikola Ristanovski
- Nebojša Glogovac
- Predrag 'Miki' Manojlović
- Marko Urošević
- Bogdan Diklić
- Josif Tatić
- Predrag Tasovac
- Dragoslav 'Dragan' Nikolić
- Danilo 'Bata' Stojković
- Velimir 'Bata' Živojinović
Common questions
- What is Cabaret Balkan about?
- A grimly theatrical mosaic of strangers colliding across one volatile night in post-Yugoslav Belgrade.
- What is Cabaret Balkan like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cabaret Balkan as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Cabaret Balkan violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Cabaret Balkan as brutal.
- What did critics think of Cabaret Balkan?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a sharp, unsettling, and darkly comic ensemble portrait of a society damaged by violence and political collapse.
- Which films are like Cabaret Balkan?
- Films with a similar feel include Short Cuts, Pulp Fiction, Babel, and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu.
- How long is Cabaret Balkan?
- Cabaret Balkan runs 102 minutes.
