Deal me in for another hand! Matko Destanov is playing cards with himself in a hammock while his son (Zare) surveys the river for the Russian freighter. Matko is an entrepreneur, but a very bad one, as we learn rather early on. The Russians trick him into buying water instead of petrol... the locals are somewhat odd, exotic and very colorful and the characters are totally fascinating particularly Matko. His crime boss Uncle (Mr.Grga) driving his motorized "wheelchair" must be seen to be believed, with "boss shades" and a gold toothed grin you could spot a mile away. These actors are not professionals but you would never know it. There are great performances: a little bit of Chaplin/Marx Brothers slapstick gypsy style, incredibly energetic and quirky. The arranged wedding between the rival crime boss's four foot high sister and Matko's son is very funny. She escapes from the wedding party through a trap door and the chase scene that follows is pretty funny. Also: the trap door bottom in the outhouse to dump the evil Mafia boss in his own crap, while the lovers escape! It's a very charming film with an unusual brand of humour with lots of Gypsy music... with cats as witness!

Reviewed by Eric Michel, FilmCities

Country: France/Germany Year: 1998 Running Time: 135 Min. Cast Bajram Severdzan, Florijan Ajdini, Jasar Destani, Adnan Bekir, Zabit Memedov, Sabri Sulejmani, Srdan Todorovic Producer: Maksa Catovic Editor: Svetolik Mica Zajc Cinematographer: Thierry Arbogast, Michel Amathieu Screenwriter: Gordon Mihic, Kusturica