A Small World (2003) User Reviews

The Marx Brothers meet 'Magnolia'

[baslow · 9/10 · 12 November 2004]

Narrated by 'Oggi' (a boy who does not exist and may or may not ever come into existence) this sad, philosophical, hilarious film recounts, disjointedly, the almost random conjunction of events that lead (or don't lead) to Oggi's coming into the world. Lightning strikes multiple times; people keep bragging about the quality of their mobile phones; a farmer and his wife aboard a tractor burst into a lively lip-sync of 'I Will Survive'; good Samaritans keep stealing things; a doctor tries to end his life; cops simply can't get a break...this movie is full of seemingly random events that somehow crazily knit together to bring us to the end that is the beginning (possibly).

This movie is suffused with the particular brand of bitter humor that seems to abound in Eastern Europe. It is not for all tastes, certainly. If you are looking for something different, something that will make you think while you laugh and think about why you are laughing, this movie is worth taking a look at.

Best Comedy I've seen so far

[gocegigo · 10/10 · 26 August 2009]

I rented this movie by mistake cause, i was actually searching another one with a similar name, but boy was i blown away. I remember that I was watching with friends, and we laughed so much, it was probably the funniest film I've seen in years. It's a new-age comedy, but with a twist of the old Serbians classics. The storyline is amazing, thus the characters are chosen so well, and the actors are the best Yugoslavian actors there are today in the acting business.The whole storyline is carefully planned, although it might seems a bit confusing at first, you get used to it, and after that it's just a Joy ride from than on. HIGHLY Recommended !!!

one of the bunch

[IvetteB · 1/10 · 10 November 2003]

it's unexplicable where the serbian cinematography is going. we make or stupid black-humor comedies or bad social movies. mali svet is one that belongs to the first category. the movie hasn't no background, no construction that could hold him, the characters are tied by destiny which is very suspicious, there are many unlogical actions...it's just sad

Very good and enjoyable movie

[aleksander-strah · 9/10 · 6 January 2007]

I totally disagree with Oarch's comments about this film. This is so called foreign non-understanding of Balcan humor. If you ever watched other Balcan(Ex Yugoslavian) movie, you'll notice a lot very good actors, who make this movie even better with their brilliant act. Maybe the story isn't so tuned and exciting, but you'll have a lot to laugh about in hour and half. Special credit for funny part in this movie goes to Lazar Ristovski and Bogdan Diklic as two cops, who's luck is not on their side. Also Branko Djuric takes credits for his part, but best elements of this movie are dialogs, which represents tradition and a way of living in Balcan countries.

If you like Balkan humor, then you should not miss this one.

Best Serbian film I've seen in years

[vladas-2 · 10/10 · 25 March 2004]

I don't remember Serbian film that I utterly enjoyed like this one in years. If I remember correctly last I liked like this one was Kusturica's Underground. Film is dealing with serious things, but in light and funny fashion.

And I know lot of people from Belgrade who really act like these characters in film. For example I know few doctors that using cocaine. Policemen are really behaving like those in movie. Belgrade is thorn apart by war and neglected and lot of people still isn't recovered from Milosevic's regime.

Apart from political aspects, film is really great. It seems to me that author tried to underline that accidents are just tools of fate. It is something that comes from eastern religions or philosophies (Orthodox Christianity, Islam etc).

Worst junk imaginable

[oarch · 30 October 2003]

I was fooled into watching this so-called movie because there was nothing else to see (that I haven't seen before) at a local theatre when I was in Belgrade. This junk is a total disgrace for Serbian cinematography. There is no coherent storyline, everything and everyone in this movie is completely lost in space and time. The dialogs sound as if they were written in order to stretch the movie to 1.5 hours. Dumb characters, which have zero depth, argue over trivialities that have absolutely no impact on anything. The jokes are not funny but utterly sad.

Avoid this trash at all costs.