"The Beauty of Vice / Lepota poroka"
On my Serbian teacher's recommendation, I watched the film "Beauty of Vice". And now I highly recommend it to you. Especially on 8 March. Not only because it's shot so beautifully and atmospherically. And not even because of the erotic element, which is there too)
Above all, this film is proof of how much women have achieved over the past century. Watch it and rejoice in the possibility of self-expression, the freedom to be whoever you want and with whomever you want, to travel, to study, to do what you love, to choose whom to love and how. To choose whether or not to have children.
And finally, whether or not to cook)
After all, not so long ago in neighbouring Montenegro, people in mountain villages lived by medieval laws. And a woman's life was worth no more than a sheep's. Believe me, their traditions will astonish you. A black scarf covering the wife's face during intercourse in the mountains, while on the coast nudism and free love were blossoming.
This film is interesting as a guide to Montenegro in Yugoslav times. When tourism was just emerging, the way of life was changing, and easy money appeared. Against this backdrop, traditional outdated values clashed with new free time. And in this struggle, bans and prejudices often ruined people's lives. You can't kiss your wife, you can't look at her during sex. So many absurd can'ts, while right there, very close, is a different life — just come down from the mountains and you can be free.
This film shows with incredible poignancy a huge longing for love and intimacy. To feel what it's like to be loved, even for a while, not forever, to taste a different life. After that, even dying isn't scary. And the vice here isn't naked bodies and free love — what's depraved are the prohibitions that oppress the soul and the body.
In Soviet times, "The Beauty of Vice" was shown in USSR cinemas as part of cultural exchange between socialist countries, and later on video cassettes. The theme of taboos and conventions was very close to our people too. So in a country where there was no sex, an erotic drama with beautiful naked women was hugely popular. Ask your parents, they surely remember this film.
Watch it too, and believe me — you'll start to understand the Balkans better. Carrying a car by hand into a mountain village with no roads, just to show off to the relatives — Yes, this is the Balkans, baby!
The Beauty of Vice is a drama shot in 1986 by the Montenegrin director Živko Nikolić, with Yugoslav actors in the leading roles: Mira Furlan, Milutin Karadžić and Petar Božović. The best known of the trio is Mira Furlan, a Croatian actress and singer. In 1991 she moved to the USA with her husband, where she became popular thanks to her roles as Ambassador Delenn in the series "Babylon 5" and Danielle Rousseau in "Lost".
Published 8 March 2025 · Open post in Telegram ↗
