Overview
A surreal journey through war and deception, where reality blurs in the shadows of a cellar.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Moderate
- absurdist
- operatic
- anarchic
- arthouse film night
- political cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an exhilarating, emotionally powerful, visually extravagant, and politically incisive tragicomic epic, despite its exhausting scale and bluntness.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bombings, animal imagery, brass-band energy, and exaggerated performances turn occupation, revolution, and national collapse into heightened tragicomic spectacle.
Marko conceals that the war has ended, allowing the underground workers to keep producing weapons and preserving his authority.
The cellar is not merely a wartime hiding place; it becomes a functioning community whose inhabitants are cut off from historical change.
Marko and Blacky begin as friends but diverge as one profits from political influence and the other is trapped inside the arms operation.
Films like Underground, and why
The Tin Drum
shares an absurdist tragicomic tone, sprawling historical scope, and surreal depiction of political violence and social upheaval
A Very Long Engagement
shares exuberant visual style, black humor, magical realism, and a tragic perspective on twentieth-century political history
The Death of Stalin
shares a surreal tragicomedy structure, grotesque political satire, and emotionally intense examination of ideological delusion
No Man's Land
shares Balkan cultural context, war-related trauma, and a volatile mixture of dark comedy and historical drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Emir Kusturica
- Release Date
- 1995-10-25
- Runtime
- 170 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (810)
Cast
- Predrag 'Miki' Manojlović
- Lazar Ristovski
- Mirjana Joković
- Slavko Štimac
- Ernst Stötzner
- Srđan 'Žika' Todorović
- Mirjana Karanović
- Milena Pavlović Čučilović
- Danilo 'Bata' Stojković
- Borivoje Todorović
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Underground about?
- An exuberant Yugoslav tragicomedy turns wartime deception, underground isolation, and a fractured friendship into a surreal allegory of political delusion.
- What is Underground like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Underground as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Underground violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Underground as moderate.
- What did critics think of Underground?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an exhilarating, emotionally powerful, visually extravagant, and politically incisive tragicomic epic, despite its exhausting scale and bluntness.
- Which films are like Underground?
- Films with a similar feel include The Tin Drum, A Very Long Engagement, The Death of Stalin, and No Man's Land.
- How long is Underground?
- Underground runs 170 minutes.
- Where can I watch Underground?
- In United States, Underground streams on Kino Film Collection.
