I know I was laughing far too hard at the opening
scenes of this wickedly funny comedy because from the word go I knew the plot
was horribly un-pc.  This is a Serbian
movie that poked fun about widespread homophobia but also indulged in racial
slurs between all the different peoples that once made up Yugoslavia.  Unapologetically clichéd and wreaking in
stereotypes, this farce is the unlikely story of two warring factions who agree
on a ‘ceasefire’ to suit their own means but end up becoming friends.

It all starts with starts with a drive-by
shooting.  Someone speeds past Lemon’s
large gated house and shoots his pit-bull. Lemon, an extreme macho man,
former paramilitary soldier and thug rushes his precious dog to the hospital
and threatens  poor Mirko the quivering
vet at gunpoint to tell him that if the dog dies so does he. Thankfully the dog
lives.  Fast forward to a Wedding Boutique
and Pearl, Lemon’s rather robust fiancé, is being persuaded by Radmilo her
wedding planner to go for something totally over the top and outrageously
camp.  Radmilo is incidentally Mirko’s boyfriend.

Lemon hates all the wedding plans and when he puts
his foot down too firmly, Pearl ups and leaves. 
Negotiations take place and the only way Pearl will come back is if she
gets the wedding of her dreams, and the only way Radmilo will provide it now
that he knows who her fiancé is, if Lemon will provide some much needed
security for the upcoming gay parade.  No
small demand in a country where homophobia is rampant and Lemon’s own son is a
known ‘fag basher.’

What occurs then is hilarious, as none of his usually
thuggish mates will do it, Lemon resorts to going next door to Croatia to call
in some old favors from his ex-war buddies, who turn out to not so tough as
they first look.

Despite all its humor not everything goes well and
there is a moment when you are brought up sharp with the reality of the
situation and the story takes on a different tone. 

I wont apologize for enjoying this rather crude and  simplistic movie, as the ‘message’ part
still sunk in very loud and clear.  Even
in the very heat of the violent  battle that
is about to start writer/director Srdjan Dragojevic still peppers his script with
some wee gems.  Pearl dons a flak jacket
and lines up with Lemon and his few men to fight off hundreds of skinheads who
are standing a few feet away …. but she says ‘only if it will take an hour as I
have  parked the car on a meter.’

I’ve absolutely no idea at all if this is based on a
true story but one can only imagine that the all the gay bashing in that Region
is very much a reality.  The heartening
footnote is that since its release in  Serbia and neighboring countries some
500000 people have viewed it and one can only hope and pray it helps change the
playing fields for the gay community a little.

P.S.  The movie won 3 Awards at the Berlin Film Festival early this year, and so is probably bound for US Film Festivals now, and hopefully be Released soon.  Worth keeping on your ‘Watch Out List”.

★★★★★★★★