Before the Rain (film) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Before the Rain is a 1994 Macedonian

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

starring Katrin Cartlidge

Katrin Cartlidge

Katrin Cartlidge was an English actress. She first appeared on screen as Lucy Collins in the Liverpool soap opera Brookside from 1982 to 1988 and later became well known for her film work with directors such as Mike Leigh and Lars von Trier.- Biography :Cartlidge was born in London to an English...

, Rade Šerbedžija

Rade Šerbedžija

Rade Šerbedžija , occasionally credited as Rade Sherbedgia in some English-language productions, is a Croatian actor, director and musician of Serb origin. He was one of the most popular Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s. He is now internationally known mainly for his supporting roles in...

, Grégoire Colin

Grégoire Colin

Grégoire Colin is a French actor, producer, screenwriter, and director.-Career:Grégoire started acting on the French stage at age 12. He first caught the eye of critics in the 1992 Agnieszka Holland's psychological family drama Olivier, Olivier when he was just 17...

, and Labina Mitevska

Labina Mitevska

Labina Mitevska is a Macedonian actress.Mitevska began her acting career aged 19 after studying in Skopje, Denmark and the University of Arizona...

. It was directed and written by Milčo Mančevski

Milco Mancevski

Milcho Manchevski , usually credited as Milcho Manchevski, is a film director and screenwriter from Macedonia.-Biography:Milcho Manchevski wrote and directed the feature films "Before the Rain" , "Dust'" , Shadows" and "Mothers" , over 50 short forms, including “TENNESSEE” for Arrested Development...

. The music was created by the band Anastasia

Anastasia (band)

Anastasia is a Macedonian music group.Formed in 1990, their members are:*Goran Trajkoski *Zlatko Origjanski Anastasia is a Macedonian music group.Formed in 1990, their members are:*Goran Trajkoski (ex Saraceni, Padot na Vizantija, Mizar, Aporea)*Zlatko Origjanski Anastasia is a Macedonian music...

Plot

The film is divided into three stories, all of which focus on tragic and ill-fated love affairs. In the first episode, Words, we meet Kiril, a young monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

who has taken a vow of silence

Vow of silence

A vow of silence is a religious vow, usually taken in a monastic context, to maintain silence. Known as Mauna in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, the practice is integral to Christian and Islamic traditions as well...

, who stands up for Zamira, a young Albanian girl who is accused of murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

and is on the run from a mob. For her sake, Kiril leaves the monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

and the two of them make their way through the Macedonian landscape, but their romance is heading towards a sudden and brutal end.

Faces is set in bustling and trendy London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Anne, a picture editor, is torn between the love of her husband Nick and the attraction she feels for 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 story, Pictures, brings the two previous stories together. It focuses on Aleksandar's return to Macedonia to settle. He learns that the war has divided his home village and that his Albanian neighbours are now seen as enemies. Hana, an Albanian woman he was, and apparently still is, in love with, asks him to take care of her daughter Zamira. While Aleksandar sets out to find the girl, a storm is building on the horizon, and the film returns us to its beginning.

Reception and box office

The film grossed $763,847 in the US which is generally much higher than box office performances of other Macedonian films. It has been praised by critics internationally, earning an 82% "Fresh" rating based on 11 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/before_the_rain/. Film critic Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert

Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

called Before the Rain an "extraordinary film. Work like this is what keeps me going, month after month and film after film ... This is a reminder of the nobility that film can attain."

Awards and nominations

Silver Condor for Best Foreign Film, 1996, Argentina
Independent Spirit Award 1996: Best Foreign-Language Film
Oscar Nomination 1995: Best Foreign-Language Film
Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...

1994: Golden Lion for Best Film
Venice 1994: FIPRESCI Prize (International Critics Prize)
Venice 1994: The UNICEF Prize 1994
Venice 1994: Premio Cinemavenire (Young Viewers' Prize)
Venice 1994: Audience Prize
Venice 1994: Rolling Venice Award from the City of Venice
Venice 1994: Leoncino d'oro, awarded by the Italian students
Venice 1994: International Catholic Organization for the Cinema
Venice 1994: Kodak Award for Best First Feature
Venice 1994: Francesco Pasineti Syndicate Award for Best Actor to Rade Serbedzija
Toronto Festival 1994: runner-up in audience vote
São Paulo Festival 1994: Audience Award for Best Film
Puerto Rico Festival 1994: Jury Award for Best Film
Puerto Rico Festival 1994: Audience Award for Best Film
Puerto Rico Festival 1994: Best Director
Puerto Rico Festival 1994: Best First Film
Stockholm Festival 1994: Best Debut Film
Mons Festival, Belgium, 1995: Charlot d'or
St Petersburg Festival of Festivals 1995: Grand Prix
Burgos Festival, Spain, 1995: winner of the single Festival Prize
Gorizia Festival of Screenplay, Italy, 1995: Best Screenplay
Film Forum, Bratislava, Slovakia, 1995: Best Film
Panteleria, Italy, 1995: UNESCO Prize
Warsaw Film Fest, 1995: Audience Award
Austria, 1995: Catholic Film Commission Prize
David di Donatello Special Award to a non-Italian film, Italy, 1995
Swedish Film Institute
Swedish Film Institute
The Swedish Film Institute was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. The institute is housed in the Filmhuset building located in Gärdet, Östermalm in Stockholm...

, 1995: Golden Bug for Best Foreign Film
Mediterranean Prize for Peace and Tolerance
List of Best 1,000 Films Ever Made: The New York Times

Soundtrack

The music for the film was written and performed by Anastasia

Anastasia (band)

. It was released on a CD in 1994 by Polygram

PolyGram

PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...

records, and sold thousands of copies worldwide.

External links

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