The Parade

All good things must come to an end. I finish this year's Sydney Film Festival with this film from Serbia about tolerance.
It can be quite easy to forget how easy we have it here in Australia. While we do have a few idiots around whose opinions can cause grief and harm, they are usually in a minority. It is hard to believe that in this day and age there are still some parts of the world who are not tolerant to gay and lesbian people. Serbia is one of them. This film explores a small group of gays and lesbians as they try to stage a Pride parade in their city. But due to the huge levels of intolerance they must find security and find it in the most unusual place.
The plot and most of the characters are pretty cliched. A heavily homophobic man who sees the  error of his ways after spending time with some gay people. But it is the personality of these people and how they go about their journey that makes the film as good as it is. The word faggot is thrown around a lot in the film but you don't really mind as you soon realise how silly these people are. There are many stereotypes thrown around but you don't mind because you know the character has to go on a journey of understanding. You laugh at them and not with them. The real delight in the film is the relationship between Radmilo and the man he is forced to rely on Limun. The two of them go on a very funny road trip to find recruits which provides many hilarious moments. The way they gather the guys is quite funny as well. In some ways these people have so much conflict going on with the various racial groups that a fight between the sexual orientation does not seem too surprising. It will also make you see the film 'Ben Hur' in a different way. 
Nikola Kojo is excellent as the intolerant gangster Limun. While he is a brutish man and is quick to anger he has a sweet side which becomes more and more obvious as the film progresses. As his gay friend, Radmilo, Milos Samolov is great. The two of them work really well together as the odd couple forced into a situation together. Goran Jevtic plays the very strong character of Radmilo's boyfriend really well. His strength is what makes the plot really work. Hristina Popovic is really funny as Limun's girlfriend.
I know that there are many people out there who are opposed to the Mardi Gras in Sydney but I could not imagine a situation where we needed security to help protect it. It really makes you appreciate what we have.