Film Review: Tod Eines Mannes Auf Dem Balkan
by Carola A

A middle-aged musician shoots himself in his apartment; he has his webcam – nowadays witness to so many deeds and misdeeds –and records it all. Obviously he can’t turn it off after his ‘exit’. Everyone who files into the room after his suicide – neighbors & friends, ambulance & ambulance chasers and police - is unaware of being (literally) caught on film and doesn’t feel any constraints or compunction whatsoever, to say & do what’s on their mind. The audience becomes one with this ‘candid camera’, watching from a fixed and limited angle, observing whatever moves into its field of vision, continuously without cuts or breaks. We witness some astonishing exchanges, all while the corpse is still lying on the floor – though he isn’t in our field of vision. It’s like coming to one’s own funeral, listening in on conversations. A well-written social satire (direction & script by Miroslav Momcilovic) presented in a very original & unconventional format (cinematography by Miladin Colakovic). It would be fun to see this adapted for the stage as well.