Black cat, white cat

D: Emir Kusturica, Germany/France/Yugoslavia 1998, 123 min, German subtitles

Kusturica's award-winning comedy created the breakthrough in Western Europe for Balkan music. The intoxicating soundtrack gives this insanely funny plot its framework and rhythm. The film is about Matko, a black market smuggler somewhere on the shores of the Danube. Not exactly the smartest cookie in the jar, he barely keeps his merry noisy Roma family afloat with his crooked small-time business. Things get dicey forMatko when Dadan, the local Mafioso, decides to marry his younger sister to Matkos son Zare. Kusturica unveils his story with typical exuberance and fervor. His camera lures us into a warm shimmering Danubian Arcadia that combines big emotions, biting irony, fantastic music and slapstick. A timeless cult film.