Black Cat, White Cat

1998 cheerfully absurd fable

Rating: 15/20

Plot: Matko lives with his son Zare, and plots nefariously to get ahead financially. After some deal involving oil and a train goes horribly wrong, he owes money to the wrong person--big time gangster Dadan who sort of looks like a cross between Burt Reynolds and John C. Reilly. To pay his debt, he agrees to force his son to marry Dadan's last unmarried sister, a "grumpy midget" named Afrodita. Zare isn't happy. He has fallen in love with mischievous Ida and doesn't really want to marry a midget.


There's a completely out-of-place pop song in this with a gigantic beat, a male vocal that grunts "Pit bull!" and female vocals chanting "Terrier." The music is used almost like the theme song for the "bad guy" in this, and every single time it came on, I thought, "This is the best moment in movie history!" I pumped my fist thrice.


This is a sprawling and out of control and chaotic romantic comedy/gangster flick. So much absurd fun--a character obsessively watching, rewinding, and watching again the final minute of Casablanca; midget escape; love amongst the sunflowers; Matko trying to retrieve his briefcase from a murdered man (see below); a gypsy band tied to a tree; scenes showing a huge pig eating an automobile; a singer who can pull nails out of wood with her buttocks; lots and lots of animal love; fecal matter. The soundtrack is filled with wonderful traditional gypsy music, more than background music and nearly making this a musical. Unhinged gypsy comedy!

Here's a picture of the soundtrack and probably my favorite scene:

And here's a picture of me: