Kako je poceo rat na mom otoku

The best Croatian movie, great jokes, but also shows complexity of Yugoslav war, especially in small rural areas. Recommended.

A charming black comedy that illustrates the complexities of Yugoslavia's division on the simplistic small town level. National troops have ordered a bunker to be set up, calling on the many of the local sons (who are serving as soldiers) under the command of a local businessman. The neighborhood branch of the resistance, led by the local plumber, tries desperately to disarm the camp peacefully so the boys can all get home for dinner.

An old man stumbles onto the scene in search of his son, because he simply has to go home (we never find out why). He naively wanders up to loaded guns and armed soldiers explaining "his wife will get really mad."

He teams up with the resistance, and a brilliant scheme results to disarm the self-destructive bunker.

The script is tight and full of political satire, and never borders on talky or grandiose. The array of colorful characters in the town are extreme, crazy, but utterly believable, human, and vital to the story.

The intense caper is pulled off with such masterful suspense-filled direction that is reminiscent of Chinatown or the Dirty Dozen.

Excellent! Having personally lived through those times in the then Yugoslavia and later Croatia, I can only marvel at how well the filmmakers 'got' the spirit of the time, the emotions of the people and the opposing army, their ideological divide, the propaganda, etc. To have packaged all the above in a delightful dark comedy was fabulous! The characters are so well depicted that I can almost 'see' real life characters in them. The only small drawback was the melodramatic ending (basically the last scene), which I feel was unnecessary. This is the only reason I did not give this wonderful piece of cinematography an even higher grade.

Considering this is a film about the Yugoslav wars, particularly the Croatian war for Independence, made in a Balkan nation shortly after the war, I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a typical war film, focusing on demonizing the "other side" (Serbs, Bosniaks) and rewriting the history books like "Undeground" or "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame". But instead the film does not vilify anyone nor create a victim complex. The film is focused on a group of Yugoslav soldiers who plan to join the effort of fighting for the country's (Croatia) Independence, defecting from the Yugoslav army. Other Croats seem to view it their duty to uphold Yugoslav unity and stay. Without spoiling anything, the viewpoints of both pro-Independence Croats and pro-Yugoslavia Croats is given a humane view. Betray your fellow soldiers or your fellow people? The film is neither anti nor pro Yugoslavia. Truly a breath of fresh air in terms of a war film. Carnage is into the focus, but the complicated life decisions each character is making as the war unravels.

I saw "Kako je poceo rat na mom otoku" (called "How the War Started on My Island" in English) at the 1999 Portland International Film Festival. This movie does the unthinkable: it tells a funny story relating to Yugoslavia's dissolution. And it does a good job. Based partly on a true story, it focuses on a bunch of people besieging a military installation on a Dalmatian island, demanding that Yugoslavia's army leave. Much of what happens seems to be there for comic relief, such as when a soldier shows how he had sex with a woman. But overall, it's a really good, really funny movie. And we can still say that, even knowing what ended up happening after Yugoslavia dissolved.