Directed by:
Jasmila ŽbanićScreenplay:
Jasmila ŽbanićCinematography:
Christine A. MaierComposer:
Antoni Komasa-LazarkiewiczCast:
Jasna Đuričić, Izudin Bajrovic, Boris Ler, Johan Heldenbergh, Raymond Thiry, Boris Isakovic, Emir Hadzihafizbegovic, Reinout Bussemaker, Teun Luijkx (more)VOD (2)
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Inspired by true events, writer/director Jasmila Žbanić's gripping, Oscar-nominated thriller tells the story of a United Nations translator attempting to save the lives of her family, whilst pandemonium and escalating conflict rages around them. Bosnia, July 1995. Middle-aged Aida (Jasna Ðuričić) is an English teacher in the small mountain town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army ignores a formal UN ultimatum and begins a series of round-ups and brazen shellings, Aida and her family find themselves among over 30,000 besieged citizens attempting to shelter in a UN peacekeeper-operated military base on the outskirts of town, designed to house only a few thousand. Aida's skills as a translator enable her to eventually bargain her husband and two sons inside, literally under the wire. There, within the so-called safe zone, the harried and frantic Aida becomes party to the negotiations and to crucial information. While the support the UN can provide is crumbling, the situation intensifies with the arrival of vainglorious army commander Ratko Mladić (Boris Isaković), accompanied by his own camera crew. What is at the horizon for Aida's family and people-rescue or death? Which moves should she make? Without depicting anything more explicit than a slap in the face, Žbanić - herself a survivor of the war - masterfully delivers a film of universal urgency and power: a heart-rending story of courage and resilience in the face of man's terrible capabilities; of those who knew what was happening, and those who looked away. As fierce and spellbinding as its lead performance, Quo Vadis, Aida? is a resonant testament to the indomitable human spirit. It's unforgettable cinema. (Palace Films)
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I've seen the same stooped faces in almost every other movie about genocide, the same wild half-drunk aggressors also committing crimes. It's a cursed genre that tries to recall a traumatic history but is unwilling to portray it in all its horror out of respect. The entire historical experience is thus reduced to the details of tortured faces and uninventive crowd scenes, practices that unfortunately someone who is witnessing the eighth such cinematic approach to a similar subject has already been able to armor themselves against. As one shamefully unfamiliar with the realities of the Yugoslav war, I got the impression here that somewhere in Yugoslavia a hellhole had opened up and out of it crawled the lawfully evil Serbs, whose first words in the crib were "klevetajte svoje neprijatelje, gledajte ih gonjene pred sobom i slušajte jadikovke njihovih žena", and a rather black and white situation ensued. Which my experience with history in general tends to refute, of course.
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Once I saw the name in the director's chair, I knew satisfaction wouldn't come. Unlike the film critics, Jasmila Žbanić failed to convince me of her qualities despite her previous works. Even Aida doesn't excel in captivating its audience; similar to Žbanič's previous works, I felt there was a lackluster handling of the filmic image and an inability to evoke emotions in the viewer at points that clearly deserved it. While artistically only average, there's still the explosive topic of the largest massacre with a hint of genocide since World War II in Europe... So, I'll slightly squint to justify the fourth star and give it a 70% overall impression.
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The height of the Bosnian-Serbian conflict in the mid-1990s depicted from the perspective of a Bosnian translator who is trying to protect her family during an evacuation of many thousands of people, while continuously interpreting communications between the two sides and high representatives of the UN. Her story and the depiction of the whole event are powerfully tense and incredibly absorbing from start to finish, told at a consistently brisk pace with the exception of a few quieter moments, and besides the firmly grasped direction and sophisticated screenplay (except for a few conspicuous coincidences that heighten the drama), the film is captivating due primarily to the lead actress’s excellent and entirely believable performance. The brutal climax is extended with an even more devastating ending bordering on emotional blackmail, thus making the film a very depressing affair which, however, corresponds to the actual events that inspired it.
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Very impressive and chilling coverage of relatively recent events. J. Duričić’s performance sends shivers down your spine. The way that cruelty and hopelessness is depicted is completely realistic and convincing. The tension in the movie rises perfectly, stirring your emotions. It’s a rough story, but we really should know even the dark moments of our history.
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After watching this alarming movie, I keep on wondering what the UN is good for. When the worst comes to worst, everyone just tries to save their own neck. Quo Vadis, Aida? is a masterfully crafted war drama that certainly deserves the attention of a wider audience. If only to make sure that we do not forget the atrocities that were committed on European soil in relatively recent times. (85%)
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