Bulevar revolucije (1992)

A Film Review

Copyright Dragan Antulov 2005

“May you live in interesting times” is a curse that can afflict filmmakers as well as ordinary people. Vladimir Blazevski, writer and director of 1992 Yugoslav drama BULEVAR REVOLUCIJE, lived in one of those times. The old system was crumbling but new order hasn’t been properly established. This explains why this film looked so outdated when it arrived in Croatian video stores in late 1990s. The old system was crumbling but new order haven' in Croatian video stores in late 1990s, but even the less choosy audience coul

Protagonist of the film is Biljana, 17-year old high school student from Belgrade who lives with her father, a policeman (played by Miralem Zupcevic), in a tiny dilapidated house in the poor section of the city. The family, already traumatised by the suicide of Biljana’s grandmother, is shaken again when Biljana becomes target of street thugs. Rescue comes in the form of Dragan (played by Branislav Lecic), one of the Belgrade underworld bosses. He falls madly in love with Biljana, just like she falls in love with her prince charming. Yet, Dragan, for some strange reason, wants to keep the liaison strictly platonic. All that means little to Biljana’s father who see it as personal humiliation.

At first sight, it looks like BULEVAR REVOLUCIJE captured the spirit of the times. Character of Biljana’s father represents the old Communist system which is crumbling and character of Dragan represents wild, unrestricted capitalism which is going to replace it. Blazevski even references unpleasantness that has erupted in Yugoslavia during the production – an unidentifiable war mentioned on the radio and later it serves as part of a corny and unconvincing subplot. But few viewers would care about those details. Blazevski has great problems with the script – simple story is burdened with unnecessary melodrama more suitable for Latin American soap operas. That affects film’s pacing. The dialogues are atrocious and even the talented cast, which includes future Serbian culture minister Branislav Lecic, can’t do anything other than make BULEVAR REVOLUCIJE merely watchable. The worst thing about BULEVAR REVOLUCIJE is a music which is constantly playing regardless of the events on the screen. Because of that, the “interesting” times covered in this film won’t be that interesting for the audience.

RATING: 3/10 (+)