By Milcho Manchevski
I admit to being utterly captivated by the concept behind
“Before the Rain”. As an art film, I absolutely love it. As social commentary,
I am somewhat disappointed by it. Even though the same hysteria against the
different backdrops of London versus a Balkan village emphasizes the
superficiality of adjectives such as civilized and primitive, some viewers will
definitely walk away with the impression that “they are just barbarians killing
each other” (Czeslaw Milosz). Quotes such as “war is the rule, peace is an
exception” will leave most of us drained of optimism. Yet, I do not think that
Manchevski intends to despair. In fact, I believe that his main objective is to
show us how to escape the circle.
It is impossible to order the three segments of the film so
that time flows in one direction. A circular moon illuminates every night and a
circular storyline challenges the idea of history as automatic progress. We
like to think that children are innocent. We like to think that time will bring
peace by allowing us to forget past hostilities. Manchevski, however, demands
that we think again. At the beginning of the film, children are shown exploding
bullets into the turtle trapped in the circle of burning flames. We are the
children creating the circle of violence; we are also the turtle trapped in it.
In “Words”, we are shocked by the senseless aggression of the character that
shoots the cat on the monastery roof. In "Pictures", that very
character is petting his donkey's head and never touched a gun until Mitre
drops one into his hands.
Once inside the circle, the perversion of innocence is just
a matter of time and there is no private path to salvation. You cannot find
real peace by living in a monastery and taking a vow of silence. You cannot
find real peace by becoming a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and not
taking sides. Kiril and Aleksandar are confronted with visions of Zamira and
Hana, respectively, as if projected by their own conscience. However, at the
crucial moments, they make different decisions. Kiril seems unaware of the full
consequence of his decision. He tells Zamira that everything will be all right
in a language that she does not even understand. Aleksandar is the one that
breaks the circle of violence and brings about the rain.
Manchevski weaves together the conscious and the
subconscious into a hyper reality above and beyond the real. If we consider
each segment independently, each segment makes sense. Zamira dies, Nick dies
and Aleksandar dies. After each death, we expect the other characters to do
something to make sense of the loss. Yet, knowing the other segments, we know
that they do not. The rain provides only temporary relief to the permanent
drought. “With a shriek birds flee across the black
sky, people are silent, my blood aches from waiting” (Mesa Selimovic).
482 words including quotes