Ziveli: Medicine For The Heart

How do you get to the heart of a culture ? Food, drink, music and dance. That's been the Les Blank formula in films past, and that is the way he brings us a unique look at the Serbian culture in America here. The Serbs, who began migrating to the U.S. in the mid-19th century, are shown in Northern California and Chicago. Many were steel workers and miners, who made almost nothing, and died in numbers sufficient, in one city, for three cemeteries to attest to their deaths. Today's Serbian population is a fun-loving, yet closely-knit bunch; and Blank has discovered a fair share of unique individuals: the ribald musician Popovich, and his brothers; or the young couple, who occasionally make it back to the homeland, only to discover that their people are more interested in Western culture now. And there's plenty of dancing, good food, splendid religious ceremony (the Eastern Orthodox Church), and an interesting lesson in divining the meaning of patterns left by coffee dregs (this is heavy duty coffee) around the inside of the cup. A delight. Highly recommended. (See GAP- TOOTHED WOMEN for availability).