(Вариола вера)
Directed by Goran Marković
110 minutes
In Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles

This is an explosive Yugoslavian thriller based on a true story of when a smallpox epidemic broke out in Belgrade in 1972. It was at first misdiagnosed, so as the initial patient was moved from ward to ward, it led to the entire hospital being contaminated. This flick has a swift pace as we witness the harrowing events unfold, but it also has a horror aspect to it... but more of a kind of 'social horror'—charting the levels of bureaucratic dysfunction and the breakdown of institutions. As one viewer put it, the "sheer mystery of the outbreak turns the entire hospital into an alien environment." As everything escalates we experience death, sexuality, fear, anarchy, betrayal, irony, love, madness, hysteria, and martial law. Total madness.

This riveting flick has a fantastic cast, mostly Serbian, but also including Ingmar Bergman regular Erland Josephson. The music soundtrack is so anti-Hollywood you can't believe it—the main theme song is simply a lonely flute melody that haunts the viewer in ways that a bombastic Star Wars score never will. This film was legendary in Yugoslavia, but it's rarely ever been seen abroad. Another example of amazing cinema that has been criminally forgotten. And of course it has tons of echoes—both emotional and social—to the shattering pandemic we recently experienced a few years ago... making it a kind of disaster film of epic proportions. I've wanted to screen this film for years, but the only available subtitles were ghastly. Fortunately, some friends are making new homemade subs at this very moment, making this an even more special event.

As one viewer says: "Horrifying story of a pilgrim who came back and brought along one of the deadliest diseases known to man surely sounds scary, but what makes it even more creepy is the fact that it's based on a true story... The event that made the whole world vulnerable, and reminded us that no matter how strong we appear to be, there's always one invisible enemy we cannot fight and cannot defeat."