Parade (The)
Original Title
Parada- Director: Srdjan Dragojevic
- Writer: Srdjan Dragojevic
- Producer: Vladimir Anastasov; Mike Downey
CGiii Comment
Eastern Europe has managed to achieve a malignant reputation...of being racist, homophobic, intolerant and corrupt.
This film does not shy away from any of these condemnations - it - comically - highlights them.
Yes, it is crammed full of stereotypes - but, everyone in the film is a stereotype...the same can be said of real life!
To entertain and educate at the same time...is a brave endeavour and, to a certain extent, it works - it was hugely successful in Serbia...raising the question: Are they laughing at or with???
No, it is not the greatest film ever made - not by a long shot....but, its intentions are, by far, monumental.
Much of the humour will be lost on a Western audience - that said, there are still some belly laughs to be had...a false sense of jovial security.
Dragojevic attacks...when his audience is most vulnerable - this isn't gently poking fun, this is jousting with poison-tipped lances.
Bold, brave and heartbreaking.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
A homophobic, middle-aged, Serbian gangster ends up sacrificing himself to protect Gay freedom in his country. RADMILO (35) and MIRKO (30) are young and successful gay couple, and they would be a happy couple anywhere else except in - Serbia. They try to live discreetly but still, every day they are abused by the homophobic majority. Plus, Mirko is a gay rights activist, and his dream is to organize the first successful PRIDE event in Belgrade. This is almost a "mission impossible"; in 2001, an attempt to hold PRIDE in Belgrade ended up in bloodshed. One decade later, the situation is not much better - nationalist and neo-Nazi organizations prepare another massacre in case of holding the gay parade, while the police refuse to provide protection for the participants.
Cast & Characters
Nikola Kojo as Limun;
Milos Samolov as Radmilo;
Hristina Popovic as Biserka;
Goran Jevtic as Mirko;
Goran Navojec as Roko;
Dejan Acimovic as Halil;
Toni Mihajlovski as Azem;
Natasa Markovic as Lenka;
Mladen Andrejevic as Djordje;
Relja Popovic as Vuk