Before the Rain

A storm is brewing in the Macedonian mountains, and a civil war. For a number of years tension has been increasing between the Macedonians and the Albanians, two peoples who used live in peace side by side. This evening, only just before the big storm erupts, an incident takes place that is blown out of proportion and leads to war being declared. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Nobody is safe anymore, and you cannot even trust your own. An all too familiar situation. However, Before the Rain is not a film that takes a political stand. Instead it focuses on individuals. Their actions are horrific and impossible to understand. But as long as there are people, there is war. Such is our destiny.

The film is a trilogy ,and all three stories focus on tragic and fated love affairs. In the first episode, Words, we meet a young, quiet monk, Kiril, who stands up for Zamira, a young Albanian woman who stand accused of murder and is on the run from a posse. For her sake he leaves the monastery and the two of them make their way through the enchantingly beautiful Macedonian landscape. Unfortunately their romance is heading towards a sudden and brutal end.

Faces is set in bustling and trendy London. Anne, a beautiful picture editor, is torn between the love of her husband Nick and the attraction she feels to Aleksandar, a disillusioned war photographer. She is pulled into a series of tragic events by a shoot-out at a nearby restaurant.

The third and final part, Pictures, brings the plot and the characters together. It focuses on Alexandar when he returns to Macedonia to settle. He finds out how the war has divided his home village and how his Albanian neighbours are seen as enemies. Hana, an Albanian woman with which he used to be in love - and still is - asks him to take care of her daughter Zamira….

While he sets out to find the girl the storm is building on the horizon. The plot is ingeniously pulled together and suddenly we are back where we started. A remarkable and striking play with time which heightens the feeling of fatalism and the littleness of man. ''Time doesn't wait. Because the circle is not round'', one of the wise monks in the monastery comments.

Before the Rain, awarded with the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, is a powerful cinematic experience filled with gorgeous views and tragic tales. Praise should also be given for the magnificent and moving music.
MARIA FORNEMO

Medverkande
Katrin Cartlidge, Rade Serbedzija, Gregoire Colin, Labina Mitevska: Producent
Judy Counihan, Cedomir Kolar: Manus
Milcho Manchevski: Foto
Manuel Teran: Musik
Anastasia: Talat språk
Macedonian, English