Sarajevo

It is not a documentary. or a docu-drama. it is only a decent artistic movie. using well known pieces - from the love story to the conscience of a simple/vulnerable man against a huge system. and , maybe, what you admire about it is the wise balance between what you consider speculations or conspiracy teories and the real events. because the atmosphere is real, and the questions and the desire of war. the only sin - maybe the references to problems familiar for WWII period. but that is not a big mistake. without be great, it is a correct film. with good performances, nice plot and noble message. and that represents more than a virtue.

This was made to remember the 100th anniversary of WWI for German & Austrian television. First thing I do when watching a work of historical fiction is see who the writers are. They wrote and directed documentaries. Second thing is look at the whole crew. Way down at the bottom are four names. 'Historical advisors' who also worked on documentaries. This movie poses an interesting theory and maybe is more than theory. You can see from other reviews the topic touches a nerve. This person was really this and not that, and so forth. Questioning expert opinion because it is not what you read or were taught is not the best way to critique a movie.

This is like Oliver Stone's JFK, but in another time and another place. It is a very engaging drama that explores an utterly interesting alternative view of who were the real master minds of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that lead to the First World War. Highly recommended.

A slow though decent film about the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian prince which ultimately led to World War I. The film views events through the eyes of an investigative magistrate and suggests there is much more beneath the surface than simply Serbian nationalism. A love interest is woven into the story to 'humanize' the plot .

A movie for those interested in history. Others will find it boring and difficult to complete.

On June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife are assassinated in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The assassination was carried out by a group of Serbs, fuelling speculation that Serbia was behind it. Leo Pfeffer is put in charge of the investigation into the assassination and starts to turn up events and connections that seem out of place.

Intriguing drama. Tackles the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the event that lead to World War I and the deaths of millions, from a rather original angle and makes a great "What if?" mystery out of it. I was expecting this film to focus on the assassination itself but that is just a brief prelude - the focus is on the investigation and what the diligent investigator turns up.

The path the film follows is speculative - so don't expect to see much of the investigation covered in history books - but very believable. So much so that I actually had to check afterwards how much of the film is true.

Well worth watching, especially if you're a history buff.