2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Lee Eisenberg When I watched Milcho Manchevski's "Before the Rain", I thought that it ended awkwardly: it seemed that the segments weren't fully tied together. But I understand that the idea is that they could be in any order, confirming the spray-painted phrase "the circle is not round": the overshadowing scenarios go backward and forward in a cycle. The cycle here is political turbulence and fated relationships.I don't know if I would go so far as to call the movie one of the greatest ever made, but it still hits you like a kick in the gut. I recommend it. Outstanding performances from Katrin Cartlidge (the reporter in "No Man's Land"), Rade Šerbedžija (one of the gangsters in "Snatch") and Phyllida Law (Emma Thompson's mother).Another good movie from Milcho Manchevski is "The Great Water", about an orphanage in post-WWII Macedonia.

FilmCriticLalitRao 'Before the rain' is a thought provoking film about the futility of violence. Among other things, it continues to question what is it that always turns friends into foes ? Why is there suddenly so much distrust especially between people who have always lived peacefully with each other ? This film was made at a time when Balkan war was at its peak which resulted in love and loyalties being tested through guns. In such a deplorable time, it seemed quite natural for violence to have become the preferred existential choice to settle scores. It appeared as if there was absolutely no scope at all for voices of reason to express their opinions. It was expressed through senseless, partisan cries of 'You don't belong here' and 'why' are you meddling in our affairs ? The notions of belongingness and identity are very integral to 'Before the rain'. They helped various characters to raise pertinent questions namely who belongs to whom and how is belongingness decided ? A sense of uneasiness is developed at all times when rain is about to fall. It might be related to heat or humidity. This awkwardness appears to recede with the advent of rain drops. In many ways, this brief explanation describes the genesis of Macedonian film 'Before the rain'. Lastly, 'Before the rain' would be remembered by critics and viewers alike as a profoundly humane film which depicted that love would always triumph over wanton acts of violence.

fedor8 The London segments, i.e. the segments in English, though relatively short, drag the film down somewhat; the dialogue here is clumsy. The scene with the restaurant shoot-out is absurd and stupid: a Balkan mobster starts shooting at people randomly, a place where Cartlidge - a photographer or journalist - just happens to be, telling her husband she wants a divorce. (How conveniently her problem is solved, by him getting killed there moments later!). A little too far-fetched. Serbedjija is upset with Cartlidge because she refuses to follow him to Macedonia, him having given her very short notice! What is this, kindergarten?...The rest of BTR, which revolves around a couple of small villages, is much better, but suffers from a bad case of premonitia: we know Serbedjija will get killed; it's just a matter of time. The acting and the dialogue is solid. The film's main statement - that all sides in such a conflict are equally guilty - was a wise choice for the director to make. This decision is not to be taken for granted because most directors - particularly left-wing Western ones - aren't capable of approaching any political issue in a movie in a constructive, logical, fair, intelligent, and unbiased manner.Frankly, I saw this quite a while ago, hence am not sure what I'd think about it now.

karino-4 To me, this movie conveys the ESSENCE of war. The very start...Profound. Genius. This is how war happens. And it is so very, very sad.If only people could think back to this point in their very own lives (yes, you) and be less rigid and more forgiving and less focused on detailed "rules and regulations".. Each person and each action or non-action counts.Beautifully acted and beautiful, haunting music. Although I have seen it several years ago, "Before the rain" keeps coming up in my mind because of conflicts all around us in the world. Unfortunately the story is very much alive today and I'm afraid it will be for a long time.