Before the Rain (1994)

Three interconnected stories of love under the threat of civil war in Macedonia and London.

Director:

Milcho Manchevski

Writer:

Milcho Manchevski

Stars:

Katrin Cartlidge, Rade Serbedzija, Grégoire Colin

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 25 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Grégoire Colin	...	Kiril (as Gergoire Colin)
Josif Josifovski	...	Father Marko
Boris Delcevski	...	Petre
Dejan Velkov	...	Mate
Kiril Ristoski	...	Father Damjan
Mladen Krstevski	...	Trifun
Dzemail Maksut	...	Kuzman
Labina Mitevska	...	Zamira
Mile Jovanovski	...	Priest Singing at Funeral
Milica Stojanova	...	Aunt Cveta
Petar Mircevski	...	Zdrave
Rade Serbedzija	...	Aleksander
Ljupco Bresliski	...	Mitre
Igor Madzirov	...	Stojan
Kiril Psaltirov	...	Mome

Storyline

Before the Rain tells the stories of an orthodox Christian monk, a British photo agent, and a native Macedonian war photographer to paint a portrait of simmering ethnic and religious hatred about to reach its boiling point. This gripping triptych of love and violence is also a timeless evocation of the loss of pastoral innocence, and remains one of recent cinema's most powerful laments on the futility of war.

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Plot Keywords:

endless loop | brother brother incest | violence | monk | albanian | 

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Taglines:

Time Never Dies, the Circle is Not Round.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #436.

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Goofs

In the restaurant, over 30 shots are fired with a pistol without reloading.

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Quotes

Aleksander: With a shriek, birds flee across the black sky, people are silent, my blood aches from waiting.

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Crazy Credits

The film begins with a pan over a Macedonian sky covered by dark clouds at dusk. We hear sounds of thunder, when an epigraph from the novel "Dervis i smrt" (The Dervish and Death) by Mesa Selimovic appears on the screen, while a voice is heard reading it: "With a shriek birds flee across the black sky, people are silent, my blood aches from waiting". Afterwards, the titles appear.

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Connections

References Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

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Soundtracks

Death Of Alexander
Traditional Song, Author unknown
Kaval by Dragan Dautovski, Tapboard by Kazim Idriz
Vocals by Vanja Lazarova Dimitrovska
Backing Vocals by Senko Velinov
Composed By Anastasia
Arranged and Produced by Anastasia
© 1994 PolyGram
(P) 1994 PolyGram Music

User Reviews

Thought provoking

I was forced to watch this movie for a college class, and it instantly became one of my favorite movies of all time. The story is exceptional, and the directorial brilliance of its creators brings the tragedy of an entire country to life. It contrasts the folly of war and hatred with beautiful images of the people and places that they destroy.

Details

Official Sites:

Official website

Country:

Republic of North Macedonia France UK

Language:

Macedonian English Albanian French

Release Date:

24 February 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Before the Rain

Filming Locations:

Skopje, Macedonia

Box Office

Budget:

$1,900,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$763,847

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$763,847

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aim, British Screen Productions, European Co-production Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1