momisan

For people not familiar with former Yugoslavia, the bridge is located on Tara river canyon in present day Montenegro. Build just before WWII, it is breathtakingly beautiful.

By its characteristics, the movie was a departure from the "black wave", which was more focused on the inner psychology of protagonists, to more "modern" action orientated and streamlined, stereotypical and one may say even cartoon-like characters following Hollywood style WWII template.

Having said all that, I quite like this movie. Very entertaining and with a great "O bella ciao" tune.

I felt the story of the movie was much more personal for the director than his first attempt and this time with all its technical flaws it did manage to construct a sufficiently coherent story and a meaningful message.

The main question this movie grapples with is: what is more difficult, staying or leaving? Leaving comes with its own set of problems like so many of refugees in this day and age discover and is so much discussed, however, the director is more interested in telling the story of those who were left behind to fend for themselves and to forever miss and idolize their older brothers and sisters who "made it" to the famed west and are now living a "good" or at least "cooler" version of life somewhere over the rainbow over there.

I almost felt he was talking about himself personally and that he had someone real in mind close to him who had left during those dark days of 90s. Also, being one of those who did go, I hear him loud and clear and the message touched the raw nerve somewhere deep inside me this time. I used to live practically spitting distance from the block the movie was shot at so that also certainly added to the impact - for me.

On that level, highest marks. On more superficial level, the story still lacked fluidity, still looks great, acting was much better and kudos for finally speaking in true Montenegrin accent.

Watching this movie will tell you a story of the civil war in Yugoslavia during 1990s as seen from a point of view of an average officer of the former Yugoslav Army.

Janez Kranjc, a Slovene, was all his life devoted and proudly loyal to the Yugoslav cause. When the time came to choose sides at what was the beginning of the Yugoslav break-up, he did the only thing he believed was right an honorable. He chose Yugoslav ideal before local-patriotism, and by doing so sacrificed a future and career prospects of his whole family. They had to leave his native Slovenia and became effectively refugees in Belgrade.

There were fewer and fewer true Yugoslavs in Belgrade, though, and he slowly realizes that he is now just another foreigner in what he still believed was his country. A traitor to the Slovenes and just another Slovene to the Serbs...

Zivojin Pavlovic has been one of the best proponents of naturalist/realist style of cinema in Yugoslavia and as such this film is distinctive among other Yugoslav films depicting the wars of the 90s. It is very true to what really happened to thousands of honorable people in uniform during that dark decade.

A difficult film to watch, it did justice to a very serious topic.