"Lust is dead. Sorrow is dead. God is dead. Death is dead," chants a member of an industrial rock band performing before a crowd in former Yugoslavia. This is an "in your face" look at NSK, a music, theater, and visual arts collective born in the early ‘80s as a protest by the "victims and outsiders" of modern European history, residents of a totalitarian state forever suspended between east and west. NSK went so far as to declare itself a virtual state, actually opening an "embassy" and issuing passports in Moscow and other cities. This video documents the history of NSK, offering glimpses of their work, statements, and manifestos, while placing the group against the larger background of Slovenian history. Anyone unfamiliar with the history of the region (this includes most Americans) will find the video difficult to follow if not downright incoherent. NSK lacks the sense of irony usually found in avant-garde groups, and I found their philosophers pompous and tiresome. The video makes the claim that NSK predicted the fratricidal slaughter that cursed Bosnia in the ‘90s, but is so unclear on this point the viewer must take it as an article of faith. A coal miner, puzzled over an NSK display of subterranean art, expresses it best when he admits he "can't get to the bottom of it." Neither could I. In spite of the video's film festival awards, I don't think it's a necessary purchase for most libraries. Aud: C. (S. Rees)
Predictions of Fire
(1997) 90 min. $99.95 ($350 w/PPR). Cinema Guild. ISBN: 0-7815-0630-1. Vol. 12, Issue 4
Predictions of Fire
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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