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The war must go on: Revisiting 'Underground,' which stirred controversy in the former Yugoslavia

Emir Kusturica's Underground won the Palme D-Or at the Cannes Film Festival, then immediately started a firestorm of debate in its native land.

The absurdity of authoritarianism gets a good workout in The Death of Stalin, a scabrous new comedy from Veep creator Armando Iannucci. But if you want a more surreal take on a similar subject, I direct you to a new Blu-ray release of a controversial film from 1995.

Emir Kusturica's Underground won the Palme D-Or at the Cannes Film Festival, then immediately started a firestorm of debate in its native land. In the wake of the bloody conflict that tore Yugoslavia apart, the Serbian Kusterica made an over-the-top tragicomic epic about a Serbian arms dealer who keeps his Montenegrin buddy in a cellar by telling him World War II still rages on above.

Emir Kusterica's  Underground.
Emir Kusterica's Underground. (Kino Lorber / Kino Lorber)

Newly rereleased by Kino Lorber, Underground still has the power to dazzle and overwhelm with its carnivalesque muchness. And if you to go all-in, the three-disc set also includes the 327-minute TV version, Once Upon a Time There was a Country.