Before the Rain (1994 film): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|1994 film by Milcho Manchevski}}

{{Infobox Film | name =Pred doždot

{{Infobox film

| image =Before the Rain VHS cover.jpg

| name | caption = Before the Rain VHS cover

| image = Beforetherain.jpg

| director = [[Milcho Manchevski]]

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| producer =

| director | writer = [[Milcho Manchevski]]

| producer = Marc Baschet

| starring =[[Katrin Cartlidge]]<br>[[Rade Serbedzija]]

| writer = Milcho Manchevski

| music =

| starring = [[Katrin Cartlidge]]<br>[[Rade Serbedzija]]<br>[[Gregoire Colin]]

| cinematography =

| music = [[Anastasia (band)|Anastasia]]

| editing =

| cinematography = Manuel Teran

| distributor =

| editing = Nicolas Gaster

| released = [[September 15]], [[1994 in film|1994]] ([[Toronto Film Festival]])

| distributor = Vardar Film (North Macedonia)<br>[[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment]] (International)

| runtime = 113 min

| released = {{film date|1994|9|1|Venice|df=yes}}

| language = [[Macedonian]] / [[English language|English]] / [[Albanian language|Albanian]]

| runtime = 113 minutes

| budget =

| country = [[North Macedonia]]

| imdb_id = 0110882

| language = [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]<br>[[English language|English]]<br>[[Albanian language|Albanian]]

| budget =

| gross =

}}

'''''Before the Rain''''' ([[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]: Пред дождот; [[Transliteration]]: Pred doždot) is a [[1994]] [[Macedonian]] [[film]] starring [[Katrin Cartlidge]], [[Rade Šerbedžija]], [[Grégoire Colin]], and [[Labina Mitevska]]. It was directed and written by [[Milčo Mančevski]]. The music was created by [[Anastasia (band)|Anastasia]].

'''''Before the Rain''''' ({{langx|mk|Пред дождот|Pred doždot}}) is a 1994 [[North Macedonia|Macedonian]] [[war film]] written and directed by [[Milcho Manchevski]], starring [[Katrin Cartlidge]], [[Rade Šerbedžija]], [[Grégoire Colin]] and [[Labina Mitevska]]. Photographed by Manuel Teran, edited by Nicolas Guster and featuring an original score by Macedonian band [[Anastasia (band)|Anastasia]], the film received critical acclaim.

==Synopsis==

{{spoiler}}

The film is a trilogy, and all three stories focus on tragic and ill-fated love affairs. In the first episode, ''Words'', we meet a young, quiet monk, Kiril, who stands up for Zamira, a young Albanian woman who stands accused of murder and is on the run from a posse. For her sake he leaves the monastery and the two of them make their way through the enchantingly beautiful Macedonian landscape. Unfortunately their romance is heading towards a sudden and brutal end.

==Plot==

''Faces'' is set in bustling and trendy London. Anne, a beautiful 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.

{{Tone|section|date=January 2025}}

A tragic tale of fated lovers set against the background of political turbulence in Macedonia and contemporary London, three love stories intertwine to create a portrait of modern Europe.

When a mysterious incident in the Macedonian mountains impacts people and events beyond its origin, it threatens to start a civil war and brings together a silent young monk, a London picture editor and a disillusioned war photographer. Told in three parts, and linked by characters and events, ''Before the Rain'' explores the uncompromising nature of war as it ravages the lives of the unsuspecting, and forces the innocent to take sides.

The third and final part, ''Pictures'', brings the plot and the characters together. It focuses on Aleksandar when he returns to Macedonia to settle. He finds out how the war has divided his home village and how his Albanian neighbours are 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….

==Cast==

While he sets out to find the girl the storm is building on the horizon. The plot is ingeniously pulled together and suddenly we are back where we started. A remarkable and striking play with time which heightens the feeling of fatalism and the littleness of man.

{{Cast listing|

* [[Katrin Cartlidge]] as Anne

* [[Rade Šerbedžija]] as Aleksandar

* [[Grégoire Colin]] as Kiril

* [[Labina Mitevska]] as Zamira

* Jay Villiers as Nick

}}

== Production and release ==

==Historical background==

The creation of the film served partly as a homecoming for Manchevski, who had lived in New York City since the 1980s.<ref name="cineint">{{cite journal |last1=Manchevski |first1=Milcho |last2=Horton |first2=Andrew |title=Cinema Across the Oceans: An Interview with Milcho Manchevski |journal=Cinéaste |volume=21 |issue=3 |page=45 |jstor=41687391 |year=1995 }}</ref> During the 1990s, Manchevski wrote a six-page outline for the film and managed to secure the support of the British Screen for the project. The British financial commitment was enhanced by French financing and support by the Macedonian ministry of culture. Shooting took place at a variety of locations across Macedonia in 1993.<ref name="di">{{cite book |author=Dina Iordanova |title=Cinema of Flames: Balkan Film, Culture and the Media |date=2001 |publisher=British Film Institute |isbn=9780851708485 |pages=78–79}}</ref> The film was initially not set in Macedonia. Manchevski had originally hoped to sidestep political specifics by setting the film in an anonymous country.<ref name="litint">{{cite journal |last1=Manchevski |first1=Milcho |last2=Brown |first2=Keith |title=An Interview with Milcho Manchevski |journal=World Literature Today |volume=82 |issue=1 |pages=12–15 |jstor=40159590 |year=2008 }}</ref> Nicolas Gaster was the editor and Manuel Teran was the cinematographer.<ref>{{cite book |title=Liberated Cinema: The Yugoslav Experience, 1945-2001 |author=Daniel J. Goulding |publisher=Indiana University Press |date=2002 |isbn=9780253342102 |page=271}}</ref> The band Anastasia composed the film's soundtrack.<ref>{{cite book |title=Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia |author=Dimitar Bechev |edition=2nd |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781538119624 |date=2019 |page=212}}</ref> The film was released in 1994 and widely distributed in the [[Western world]].<ref name="di" /> It was Manchevski's first feature film and was an international breakthrough for the Croatian actor Rade Šerbedžija.<ref name="md">{{cite book |editor=Pål Kolstø |title=Media Discourse and the Yugoslav Conflicts: Representations of Self and Other |date=2009 |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=9780754676294 |pages=225, 227}}</ref>

The film's non-linear three-act structure was inspired by [[Aleksandar Petrović (film director)|Aleksander Petrović]]'s film ''[[Three (1965 film)|Three]]'' (1965).{{r|cineint}} The film also contains allusions to [[Sergei Eisenstein]], [[Andrei Tarkovsky]], and others. For example, the scene where Aleksandar whistles "[[Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head]]" while riding his bicycle is a conspicuous nod to ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'', directed by [[George Roy Hill]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Horton |first1=Andrew |title=Review of Before the Rain |journal=Cinéaste |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=44–46 |jstor=41687390 |year=1995 }}</ref>

The movie is not based on real events. There was no armed conflict between [[Albanians]] and [[Macedonians]] at the time the film was made. There were, however, clashes in 2001.

==AwardsThemes==

One of the main points of focus in the film is the ethnic clash that existed between [[Eastern Orthodox|Orthodox]] [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]] and the [[Albanians in North Macedonia|Albanian Muslim minority]] in the early 1990s. It offers a view on how sociocultural norms and mechanisms can give rise to [[nationalism]] that grows into phobia of the foreign. Additionally, through the character of Aleksandar, the film offers a view of the "cultural shock" and foreignness he experiences upon reintegrating and returning to his home country after being away.<ref name="katarzyna">{{cite journal|title=Transnational Anatomies of Exile and Abject|first=Katarzyna|last=Marciniak|journal=Cinema Journal|publisher=University of Texas Press|pages=65–78|year=2003|issue=42|doi=10.1353/cj.2003.0025}}</ref>

The film was nominated for [[Academy Award]], several awards in [[Venice Film Festival]] including the Golden Lion, overall about thirty international awards.

==Critical reception==

==External links and references==

On [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 37 reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/before_the_rain/|title=Before the Rain (Pred dozdot) (1994)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|access-date=14 February 2020}}</ref> Deborah Young of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' described the film as a "visually and narratively stunning tale."<ref>{{cite web |title=Before the Rain |url=https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/before-the-rain-1200438709/amp/ |website=Variety |date=7 September 1994}}</ref> [[Film critic]] [[Roger Ebert]] described ''Before the Rain'' as one of the best films of the year and dubbed it "extraordinary". He further praised Manchevski's "clear, ironic, elliptic style" and called it "an art film about war, in which passions replace ideas".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/before-the-rain-1995|title=Before the Rain'' movie review & film summary (1995) by Roger Ebert (March 10, 1995)|first=Roger|last=Ebert|author-link=Roger Ebert|work=Rogerebert.com|date=10 March 1995|access-date=15 February 2020}}</ref> Criticism of the film largely focused on the [[gaze]] present in or allegedly constructed by the film.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gordana P. Crnkovic |title=Post-Yugoslav Literature and Film: Fires, Foundations, Flourishes |date=2012 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=9781441171771 |page=81}}</ref> Slovenian philosopher [[Slavoj Žižek]] has interpreted the film as offering "to the Western gaze what it likes to see in the Balkans – a mythical spectacle of eternal, primordial passions, of a vicious cycle of hate and love, in contrast to the decadent and anemic life in the West."<ref name="md" />

{{wikiquote}}

*{{imdb title|id=0110882|title=Before the Rain}}

==Awards and nominations==

[[Category:1994 films]]

At the [[67th Academy Awards]] that took place in 1995, the film was nominated in the category for [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best Foreign Language Film]], marking the Republic of Macedonia's first nomination ever in the award show.<ref name="oscarnom">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-15-ca-32293-story.html|title=THE 67TH ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS : Bubba Gump Oscar Co. : Movie Gets Nod in 13 Categories : Awards: 'Forrest' nominations include best picture, director and actor, giving Hanks two in as many years. Independents score big, especially Miramax with 22|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first1=Claudia|last1=Eller|first2=Susan|last2=King|date=15 February 1995|access-date=15 February 2020}}</ref> However, it lost to the film ''[[Burnt by the Sun]]'' by [[Nikita Mikhalkov]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1995|title=The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners|access-date=15 February 2020|work=Oscars.org|date=5 October 2014 }}</ref> The film also won the [[Golden Lion]] at the [[51st Venice International Film Festival]], alongside ''[[Vive L'Amour]]'' by [[Tsai Ming-liang]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/13/arts/golden-lion-award-at-venice-film-festival.html|title=Golden Lion Award At Venice Film Festival|work=[[Reuters]] via The New York Times|date=13 September 1994|access-date=8 March 2020}}</ref> It was also nominated for the [[Grand Prix (Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics)|Grand Prix]] in 1996 by the [[Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics]].<ref name="be" /> In addition to the aforementioned awards, the film also won 30 other awards.

[[Category:Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee]]

[[Category:Macedonian culture]]

{| class="wikitable"

[[ja:ビフォア・ザ・レイン]]

|+

[[mk:Пред дождот (1994)]]

!Award

!Category

!Recipient

!Result

!Ref.

|-

| [[67th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]

| [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]

| ''Before the Rain''

| {{nom}}

| <ref name="oscarnom" />

|-

| [[Argentine Film Critics Association|Argentine Film Critics Association Awards]]

| [[Silver Condor Award for Best Foreign Film|Best Foreign Film]]

| ''Before the Rain''

| {{won}}

| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lanacion.com.ar/70242-sol-de-otono-una-pelicula-que-vuela-muy-alto|title="Sol de Otoño": una película que vuela muy alto|trans-title=Autumn Sun: a movie that flies very high|date=4 June 1997|access-date=15 February 2020|work=[[La Nación]]|language=es|archive-date=29 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729042545/http://www.lanacion.com.ar/70242-sol-de-otono-una-pelicula-que-vuela-muy-alto|url-status=dead}}</ref>

|-

| [[David di Donatello|David di Donatello Awards]]

| Special Award to a Non-Italian Film

| ''Before the Rain''

| {{won}}

| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.daviddidonatello.it/news/david-giovani.php|title=Accademia del Cinema Italiano - Premi David di Donatello|publisher=Daviddidonatello.it|language=it|access-date=15 February 2020}}</ref>

|-

| [[11th Independent Spirit Awards|Independent Spirit Awards]]

| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film|Best Foreign Film]]

| ''Before the Rain''

| {{won}}

| <ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/three-cheers-for-the-mighty-quinn-1.38049|title=Three cheers for the mighty Quinn|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|date=5 April 1996|access-date=15 February 2020}}</ref>

|-

| [[31st Guldbagge Awards|Guldbagge Awards]]

| [[Guldbagge Award for Best Foreign Film|Best Foreign Film]]

| ''Before the Rain''

| {{won}}

| <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kanal5.com.mk/articles/222507/-pred-dozhdot-megju-500-najrevolucionerni-filmovi-vo-istorijata-na-kinematografijata|title = "Пред дождот" меѓу 500 најреволуционерни филмови во историјата на кинематографијата}}</ref>

|-

| [[Nastro d'Argento]]

| Best Foreign Film

| ''Before the Rain''

| {{nom}}

| {{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

|-

| [[Grand Prix (Belgian Film Critics Association)|Grand Prix 1996]]

| Grand Prix

| ''Before the Rain''

| {{nom}}

| <ref name="be">{{cite news|url=https://www.lesoir.be/art/un-film-qui-colle-a-notre-epoque-l-ucc-couronne-little-_t-19960108-Z0AHVX.html|title=Un film qui colle à notre époque, l'UCC couronne "Little Odessa"|first=Luc|last=Honorez|journal=[[Le Soir]]|date=8 January 1996|page=8|access-date=8 March 2020|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.lesoir.be/les-laureats_t-19951221-Z0AFRU.html|title=Les finalistes du prix UCC |journal=Le Soir|date=December 21, 1995|page=11|access-date=8 March 2020|language=fr}}</ref>

|}

==Legacy==

''[[The New York Times]]'' writers Vincent Canby and Janet Maslin included ''Before the Rain'' in their book ''The New York Times Guide to the Best 1000 Movies Ever Made'' published in 1999.<ref>{{cite book|title=The New York Times Guide to the Best 1000 Movies Ever Made|first1=Vincent|last1=Canby|first2=Janet|last2=Maslin|year=1999|publisher=Times Books |isbn=0812930010|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesguid0000canb}}</ref> The film has been part of the curricula at numerous universities and in the Italian and Turkish high schools. An interdisciplinary academic conference in Florence was dedicated to the film, and it has been the subject of numerous essays and books. Katarzyna Marciniak, a scholar from [[Ohio University]], argued in her essay that the film, in addition to being a cautionary tale for people from the former Yugoslavia, also served as a message to [[Western world|Westerner]]s and American citizens "to recognize the problematic 'doubleness' embedded in the concept of national identity".<ref name="katarzyna" />

==Home video releases==

* 2008 [[The Criterion Collection]], Region 1 DVD (Spine #436), June 24, 2008 — Includes audio commentary by Milcho Manchevski and film scholar Annette Insdorf, an interview with Rade Serbedzija, a short 1993 documentary about the making of the film, and an essay by film scholar [[Ian Christie (film scholar)|Ian Christie]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.criterion.com/films/858-before-the-rain|title=Before the Rain|work=criterion.com|access-date=22 March 2017}}</ref>

* It has also been released in Italy, Brazil, UK, France, Turkey, North Macedonia, Japan, Argentina, and Mexico.

==See also==

* [[List of submissions to the 67th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]]

* [[List of Macedonian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==

{{Wikiquote}}

* {{IMDb title|id=0110882|title=Before the Rain}}

* {{TCMDb title|id=68356}}

* {{Rotten Tomatoes|m/before_the_rain}}

* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/662-before-the-rain-never-ending-story ''Before the Rain: Never-Ending Story''] an essay by [[Ian Christie (film scholar)|Ian Christie]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for ''Before the Rain''

|list =

{{Guldbagge Award Best Foreign Film}}

{{Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film}}

{{Golden Lion}}

{{Warsaw Film Festival Audience Award}}

}}

{{Milcho Manchevski}}

{{Macedonian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Before The Rain (1994 Film)}}

[[Category:1994 films]]

[[Category:Albanian-language films]]

[[Category:English-language Macedonian films]]

[[Category:Films shot in Bitola]]

[[Category:Macedonian-language films]]

[[Category:Golden Lion winners]]

[[Category:1990s war drama films]]

[[Category:Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film winners]]

[[Category:Best Foreign Film Guldbagge Award winners]]

[[Category:Gramercy Pictures films]]

[[Category:PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films]]

[[Category:Hyperlink films]]

[[Category:Films about siblicide]]

[[Category:Films set in North Macedonia]]

[[Category:Films set in London]]

[[Category:1994 drama films]]

[[Category:1994 independent films]]

[[Category:1990s English-language films]]

[[Category:Films directed by Milcho Manchevski]]

[[Category:1994 multilingual films]]

[[Category:Macedonian multilingual films]]

[[Category:Macedonian war films]]

[[Category:English-language independent films]]

[[Category:English-language war drama films]]