With no less than two Golden Palms from Cannes and scores of other top awards, Bosnian-born Emir Kusturica is one of the most decorated and celebrated film directors in the world. Films such as Time of the Gypsies (1989) and Underground (1995) have captivated audiences with their extraordinary imagination, exuberant energy, and challenging subject matter. Dina Iordanova presents a uniquely balanced view of this fascinating and controversial director. She shows how Kusturica's intensely held (though changing) Balkan affiliations lie at the root of his craft, which has proved to be one of the latest and glorious flowerings of the European auteurist tradition. Iordanova presents an overview of Kusturica's career, pays tribute to his attractive and impressive aesthetics, and investigates the particularities of his ideology.
