Sarajevo

I was a first disappointed to find the film was in German with no English subtitles however the main actor captured my attention immediately. I watched the film, never understood a word and thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope to find it with subtitles. Seems to me I would not be alone as just the characters of the film and their acting abilities drew me in. I suppose it would be like watching a silent film. I gave the film 8 out of 10 Stars and have no regrets for doing so

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.

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.

I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. As a history geek I had this on my list for a while and finally watched it. It gives a great account of the tone and atmosphere in Sarajevo during the time. Fantastic costumes and authentic set pieces. There are not many useless scenes in the movie and it is paced very well. It does not waste your time. It has this great sense of impending doom, as if Austria-Hungary at the time was like a coke bottle with Mentos in it shaken up.

If you understand the historical context and the details of the event, this movie will captivate you. I find it disingenuous to rate movies based on historical accuracy as most history movies do not try to be 100% accurate. Despite this Sarajevo gives an incredibly detailed account of what happened but gives a nice spin on it making you wonder if what we know is the truth. It's the kind of movie that makes you re-educate yourself on what actually happened. It's not amazing but it is a solid 7/10 movie and not too long.

Frankly with a good history teacher giving context, this could be shown in classrooms.

I agree with most of the first review, except that I highly recommend it. It could perhaps be argued that it qualifies as 'historical fiction', but then, so is very much of what actually passes for historical non-fiction-- perhaps better referred to as 'history massaged', after the fact. Not to encourage the so-called 'conspiracy theorists', but fact is that history is replete with examples of history being massaged before the fact. Whether you agree with the premise (I am still checking), fact is that it actually (to my mind, and tastes), is much more engaging than, say pretty much anything that Tom Cruise has done--because this, at least, has a very strong possibility of being not far from the truth.