Vukovar, jedna prica

Unfortunately, I have to say that after having read the article on this movie by James Berardinelli (a film critic I usually admire) I felt sick to my stomach. His article only goes to show how influential and far reaching well planned and executed state propaganda can be, and how misleading one can result in being when ignorant of historical facts.

First of all, Mr. Berardinelli should learn that Vukovar is not a town in Bosnia, but the 4th or 5th biggest city of Croatia, and that the happenings depicted in this movie are not part of the Bosnian war (which was started much later), but have transpired in 1991 at the very beginning of the Serbian war against Croatia, a country that had just been born and did not possess a military at the time, as a matter of fact did not possess any armed forces whatsoever other that the local police. So much as far as the bare facts are concerned. Bearing this in mind, the viewer will immediately see that most of the happenings depicted in this movie could not have happened, and if they had read up on this issue from any unbiased source, they would know that Vukovar was nothing less than a massacre of civilian population perpetrated by the then (still) Yugoslav army and Serb paramilitary forces.

As far as the movie is concerned, notwithstanding all of the above and the fact that it is essentially a lie, I did not even see any 'technically' appealing issues. I found everything to be way below par; the acting, the direction, the screenplay, cinematography, sound... Nothing was good. But somehow, the propaganda achieved it's goal; a bunch of western 'do-gooders' hailed a massacre and shed tears for the perpetrators rather than the victims. Well done!

In 1990, in Vulkovar, the Croatian Anna (Mirjana Jokovic) and the Serbian Toma (Boris Isakovic) get married. They had been friends since they were children and they felt in love for each other. Together with Toma`s parents, they build their own house. Anna gets pregnant, when the war begins and Toma is recruited to fight. In the beginning, the persons believe it is a minor conflict. Through the character of Anna, the drama of Croatians, Serbians and Yugoslavians during this stupid war is presented along her nine months of gestation. In the end, after many deaths and destruction, it is showed a panoramic view of the ruined city, shattered like the love of Anna and Toma. Yesterday I watched a great movie called `Harrison`s Flowers', which takes place along this war in the Balkans. I recalled I bought a couple of years ago an unknown film called `Vulkovar'. Today I have decided to see it, and I found a very impressive and unforgettable movie. This upside-down love story has a magnificent performance of Mirjana Jokovic and Boris Isakovic. It is impossible not to be touched with the drama of Anna and the people of this beautiful city nearby the Danube. A very sad anti-war movie, highly recommended for all audiences. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `Vulkovar'

This film left me cold. It lacks the intelligence and style of the "Before the Rain" and the ferocity of "Pretty Village Pretty Flame." While the acting was good, the characters somehow never really move you the way they should. They remain two-dimensional. There are young lovers, the good soldier, the evil paras, etc. , but none of them have any complexity despite being in a complex situation. The editing seemed rather meandering and the pace surprisingly slow for a story set in a city that came under constant, violent siege. Some reviews cited this as an unbiased, anti-war film. For those familiar with the situation, there's an obvious political slant, and some infamous events were left out. Considering the fact that this is a Serbian film made while war still raged in Bosnia and Serbs had become international pariahs, the sympathetic treatment of Serbs isn't surprising. The surprise is that it's done subtly. As an anti-war film, it's more successful, but still lacks the force of classics like " All Quiet on the Western Front" or "Gallipoli."

VUKOVAR is the only film, besides BEFORE THE RAIN, to draw you in to the events in post-1992 Yugoslavia, and make you feel them as you were there. It's a shame comments like "it's been done before and better" are often the first impression people read when researching a film. Obviously, anyone making such as a statement(in 1998!) is a johnny-come-lately fool who should think before writing such nonsense. How can it have been done before when these "better" movies were made after VUKOVAR in 1994! Wake up! VUKOVAR was one of the first few. In 1995, I saw it in Los Angeles (Santa Monica) in regular release, not in a festival, then watched it again last year on video. If video is one's only access to films, fine, but check the release date before such a broad claim from the deep province. Even after seeing a dozen features dealing with Balkan tensions and ethnic wars in the 90's (including the great, slightly earlier BEFORE THE RAIN which does not deal with Serbia/Bosnia/Croatia), VUKOVAR remains one of the most touching and realistic. AND, importantly, before VUKOVAR, "it had NOT been done before", better or worse, just not at all! VUKOVAR is great, relevant film-making.

The film is a true masterpiece that has sparked controversy, because of nationalism and pride which are very important in the Balkans. First of all, the movie goes from the perspective of two young people (A Serb man and a Croatian woman) who lived peacefully and very much in love in the city of Vukovar (it lays on the Danube right on the border of Serbia and Croatia) and the two have nothing but love and respect towards each others nations. As the Croatian War of Independence arises, they are split apart. It shows the casualties of wars and how young lives are destroyed because of manipulative politicians and ultra-nationalistic minorities that have a huge impact on the entire society. Yet, the beauty of this movie lays in the details: 1. The love for your homeland (the girl Ana, played by Mirjana Jokovic, refuses to flee Vukovar even though she is pregnant and can easily get hurt) 2. Ana's parents, who are open-minded people who have always gotten along nicely with Serbs (they are Croats) slowly begin to became aggressive and hateful towards Serbia as the sound of bombings and shootings intensifies in the background. 3. They never accused Serbs, nor Croats. That is a very important detail, as that's what differs a war movie and an anti-war movie. They show rape, killings and horrific things done by soldiers and para-military movements never specifying on what side are they fighting. 4. The use of Bajaga's song ''Budjenje ranog proleca'' (The awakening of early spring) is used brilliantly as the camera films a destroyed city. 5. My favorite scene is at the end when Ana and Tomo look at each other from two different buses and the crossroad sign Zagreb (capital of Croatia) and Belgrade (capital of Serbia) is shown alongside the destroyed water tower of Vukovar. All in all, I strongly recommend to everyone. Especially to people who think that Serbs and Croats alongside other ex Yugoslav nations are flesh eating monsters to watch a realistic story of two ordinary people who's youth and love is shuttered because of a war only profitable politicians wanted!