Welcome to Sarajevo

It seems bitterly ironic that a movie about the war in Bosnia, ignored for the most part by the West, should have been ignored by moviegoers. I don't know what happened to the distribution of this movie (perhaps there is an explanation), but I suspect that many movie-goers just don't want to be troubled by the reality of what happened in Bosnia in the years that the movie so effectively depicts -- 1992-1995. It's a crying shame, because this is a powerful, beautiful story that focuses on a British journalist who must learn how to act on his moral outrage. As a former reporter, I empathized completely with his sense of disconnectedness from the terrible events he witnesses. But as the camera moves through the burned-out rubble of the city and its surroundings, the tension builds toward his inevitable actions and makes plain the movie's moral: that even when we feel we can do almost nothing, we should do whatever tiny bit we can. The message isn't heavy-handed; it is intelligently conveyed through top-notch performances from a solid cast (Woody Harrelson is perfectly convincing as the "cowboy" American journalist) and a script that does justice to the complexity of the Bosnian situation. Real news footage is mixed quite cleverly with the invented -- so well, in some cases, that it's hard to tell them apart. This isn't an easy movie to watch but it's worthwhile for those many of us who become confused and overwhelmed by the Bosnian situation. It's a powerful reminder, too, that being informed isn't enough; action is imperative. I greatly admired this movie.