Snijeg

There is a tendency among film critics today to praise the intentions of directors, especially when the director is from a part of the world that has seen much bloodshed and cruelty. And more so when the causes are recent and the director is young and is brimming with humanity. But the quality of film making does not rest on these things. The result of such a tendency here is to react to the intention and not the result. The story is simple. A group of Bosnian woman are forced to live alone and do their best to survive as their men folk have all gone off to fight and not returned. They make plum jam. A lot of it. And hard work of it. In an early scene, one woman is seen struggling to pull a great big plastic box full of plums up a hill. It showed how tough these girls are. Audiences will ask 'where's the wheel barrow?' This would have proved how bright they are. But no. Relentlessly the 32 year old director pours his heart out over the struggle Bosnian widow women go through. Busy cutting and no real focus on any one woman leads to a collective protagonist that never ever works. Then a couple of Serbs (the bad guys) turn up and for reasons I can not imagine, want to buy the village. But it is going to snow soon. And… well. Plum loco.

I have seen many wars dealing with Bosnian war subject. This one deals with post traumatic syndrome which some Bosnian Muslim women go trough after their husbands and fathers were killed by Bosnian Serb Army during the war of Bosnian independence 1992-1995. If you are interested on the subject this is a film for you, otherwise you might just watch it to learn how Bosnian society looks like.

Plot is interestingly imagined, but it is not really life realistic. Since I know Bosnian society well, I am not sure that somebody would come and offer money for the land. But I am not that sure.

What I am sure is that this film excellently portrays society in eastern Bosnia.

It shows what Bosnian women endured after serbs genocide in Bosna

For those who are looking for some fun, excitement, or action, there is nothing to see here. However for those who want to see one tradition, country, state, lifestyle, culture, facts there is something to see. Reminds me of real life problems like finances, health, work... But even then, this is still poor movie. Too boring, passive, and too much talk. I expected more action and reaction (e.g. To snow), and more depth like stepping on a landmine or at least seeing situation during and after sale, during and after winter... Instead it has no end. It is unusual to see Emira Hadzihafizbegovic in such poor movie, where even he can't show his acting skills, charisma... Worse than Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020), Sabina K. (2015)... Poor, empty, unfinished.

I have never heard of the director or the actors who played in this movie, but they managed to produce one of the most memorable movies about the consequences of the Bosnian war. The VIFF screening of this movie had its moments when some people left the theater, but the overall reaction was one of silence - silence for the ones that were victims of that war.

If you have the chance to see this movie, go with an open mind and you'll be reward it, as the film would manage to stir a lot of questions about the war in general, and about the Bosnian war in special: why did it happen? ohhhh, WHY?