By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Jasmila Zbanic
Starring: Boris Isakovic | Boris Ler | Dino Bajrovic | Emir Hadzihafizbegovic | Izudin Bajrovic | Jasna Djuricic | Johan Heldenbergh | Raymond Thiry
Country: bosnia-herzegovina, france, germany, netherlands, norway, poland, romania, turkey
Year: 2021
Running time: 101
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8633462/reference
Bob says: “In 1995, during the Bosnian war, the UN has declared the town of Srebrenica a safe haven and set up a base of Dutch peacekeepers. The Serbs, despite an ultimatum from the UN, continue to advance on the town. Aida, a local woman who was a school teacher before the war, serves as a translator for the Dutch. While a Serbian general bloviates and brags in front of TV cameras, the Dutch insist on following the rules and end up doing nothing at all while the politicians at the UN and the Dutch government won’t even answer the phone.
“This is all completely heartbreaking, but not because anything comes as a surprise to the audience. We know what’s going to happen, because we know what happened. I’ll leave it up to you whether you prefer to call it war crime, ethnic cleansing, or genocide. The revelation is in watching Aida go from thinking the situation is mostly under control, to thinking she can make a difference, to thinking she can at least do something to take care of her own, even if it means ignoring everyone else’s needs, to finally realizing she’s as powerless as everyone else.
“There’s an interesting flashback sequence that begins when Aida sees a couple kissing. We’re brought back to the early 90s, probably not long before the war began, and witness a pageant where competitors compete for the title of best hairstyle. The whole event is a party, but at the end, we get a shot that pans across a line of people, all looking into the camera with solemn expressions on their faces, like ghosts who’ve come back from the future and know what’s coming.
“I’ll also leave it up to you to decide whether the coda of the film, some time after the war has ended, should be seen as optimistic.”
Michael says: “Films about the Bosnian War in the 90’s are pretty tough, and QUO VADIS, AIDA? is no exception. The story of a woman desperately trying to keep her family safe and caught in the middle of an increasingly hopeless situation is what we get with this film. Based on true events, it’s 1995, and the town of Srebrenica has been designated a safe haven by the UN The Dutch peacekeeping force assures the town that air strikes will occur if The Serbs try to invade. Instead, the UN leaves the Dutch out to dry and their base is overrun by Bosnian refugees fleeing the violence. Aida works for the UN as a translator for the Dutch Army. When her family, a husband and two grown sons, don’t make it onto the base after it reaches max capacity, and are left outside the locked gate with about half of the town, she desperately tries everything she can think of to get them in. She is ultimately successful, but that is only the first of a series of hardships Aida must face as the horrors of this war begin to escalate.
“The film is very strong, with gripping direction by Jasmine Zbanic, who directed the haunting GRBAVICA: LAND OF MY DREAMS, which garnered a Chlotrudis nomination for its lead actress, Mirjana Karanovic. We know the story arc Zbanic creates is leading us to a devastating finale, but she keeps the tension high and hope, even just a slim strand, present. But you must see QUO VADIS, ADIA for the lead performance by Jasna Djuricic. Aida basically drags the viewer through this film, whether willing or unwilling. Her determination practically leaps off the screen compelling you to follow her on her desperate journey. There is no obstacle that she won’t try to sumount, no matter what the consequences. It’s compelling and powerful, but somehow she retains her humanity through it all, and Djuricic and Zbanic show this is small ways: a moment of respite where Aida gets high, a flashback to a happier time that reveals the guilt that Aida is feeling. Best Actress nomination for sure… possibly direction, movie, and editing. 5 cats”