This story takes place 15 years after the war. Although I was acquainted with the horrors of the war, I was NOT acquainted with the horrors of survival. The refugees 15 years after live in brick houses that from the outside look like low-cost townhouses, against a magnificent mountainous landscape. The only thing sustaining the life of these refugees is the care of those who survived, particularly the very you, and the interminable wait for the bones of their loved ones who fell victim and were interred in mass graves. As the bones are plowed up, they are bagged and trucked to the camp, where the wives and mothers await them daily.
The scenes of this life are appropriately filmed in black and white. They are interrupted by color sequences of the Serbian-run TV reality show "Big Brother," which one of the surviving young men has been accepted into, much to the disgust of his Bosnian family. This contrast is the film's major irony -- the only relief from the waiting for news of he dead is this vision of a motley crew of random strangers living on a TV set.
The impact of this film is, of course, emotionally powerful -- but the REAL reality of the situation only slowly took shape in my mind. Because of this lag, I gave it a 7 rather than an 8.
The scenes of this life are appropriately filmed in black and white. They are interrupted by color sequences of the Serbian-run TV reality show "Big Brother," which one of the surviving young men has been accepted into, much to the disgust of his Bosnian family. This contrast is the film's major irony -- the only relief from the waiting for news of he dead is this vision of a motley crew of random strangers living on a TV set.
The impact of this film is, of course, emotionally powerful -- but the REAL reality of the situation only slowly took shape in my mind. Because of this lag, I gave it a 7 rather than an 8.
