Director Ilić shares his story about a soldier who never wanted to be one. During the Balkan Wars in the 1990s, he refused to be enlisted and was sent to military prison. Pretending to be mentally ill, he left the war zone and returned to Belgrade in a psychiatric institution. 

Ilić decided to address his past after meeting young people who fled the war in Ukraine, living as “deserters” in Serbia. It triggered memories of his experiences and a journey of introspection, where he could shed a light on the human cost of the conflict – of any conflict. Here he gathers an eclectic mix of mainly archival footage, from his youth spent in alternative subcultures (skateboarding, metal concerts) to “objective” surveillance camera images. This kaleidoscopic quality is true to the very nature of memories – sometimes blurred, sometimes vivid –, so that Exit Through The Cuckoo’s Nest eschews the clichés of “recorded monologue” and does justice to this poignant story.