Review
A pessimist thinks things can't be worse. An optimist knows they can.
This has one of the craziest hooks I've seen in a movie in a while. During the Bosnian War, one Serbian rookie and two Bosnian soldiers find themselves trapped in a trench between the two sides. If this wasn't stressful enough, one of the Bosnian soldiers is lying on a mine that will detonate if he moves.
The script doesn't ask you to take either soldier's side; instead, it humanizes all three without pandering or both-sidesing the conflict. They are stuck in an absurd dilemma, because the larger conflict is absurd. There is a fair amount of dark humor that feels natural, though it's all dancing around its own tripwires, as these men are at war, after all.
Eventually, the UN's peacekeeping force and international news media get involved, and the movie shifts gears and dives into one of the most infuriating farces I've seen in a while. The UN, in particular, is absolutely useless and uninterested.
The widening of the story's scope was a little disorienting at first, as the first part feels more like an intimate play, but it's ultimately the right move and leads to a brutal, frankly cruel ending I wasn't expecting.
Very powerful, and very deserving of its Best Foreign Film at the Oscars that year.
Focus Group Film Club
Aug 2026: A Trip to the Balkans
