The Fall of Rock and Roll

This 1989 Yugoslav film consists of three parts by three different directors. The parts are not connected; what they share is the music scene of Belgrade and the atmosphere of the period. In the first, a failed rocker turns into a masked folk singer to spite his father. The second retells a vampire story. The third concerns young men caught between conscription and music. Musicians of the period appear in the cast and the songs are the film's spine. The narrative gives the cultural tension of the years just before Yugoslavia broke apart through comedy; the tone is sardonic and the form deliberately loose. Who it's for: those curious about Yugoslav cinema and rock culture. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a unified film; the three parts are independent and their tones do not match.