Quo Vadis, Aida?

Jasna Djuricic in Quo Vadis, Aida?

Jasmila Zbanic's Quo Vadis, Aida? brought me my first convulsively emotive cinematic experience of 2021. I cried. I cried a lot. Now many movies, from History is Made at Night to The Road Warrior, have opened up my water works, so I suppose this is no signal achievement. Still, this film about the Srebrenica massacre that occurred in 1995 during the tail end of the Bosnian war, does not seek to jerk tears, but gives a clear-eyed perspective on the tragedy and its ambivalent aftermath.

The protagonist of the film, Aida (Jasna Djuricic), is a Bosnian translator attached to the UN peacekeeping forces; in this case consisting of Dutch troops. When the Serbian army under General Ratko Mladic sweeps into Srebrenica, the population flees fearing deadly reprisals. Resentments and feuds spanning four centuries have festered during the conflict and the largely Muslim Bosnians fear the ethnic cleansing fury of the Eastern Orthodox Serbs. Thousands seeks sanctuary at the UN base, but the Dutch troops are not equipped to handle their numbers. Their commander reaches a rapprochement with General Mladic which resulted in the extermination of over 8,300 Bosnian men.

Ms. Djuricic demonstrates the perfect balance of desperation and resolve as Aida. Boris Isakovic provides a memorable portrait of villainy as General Mladic, who was finally convicted of his crimes in 2011. Johan Heldenbergh and Raymond Thiry register well the frustration of the Dutch commanders. 

I have my petty gripes, as usual. Ms. Zbanic presents Ms. Djuricic running around doing a Mother Courage bit too often and the massacre victims are sheeple. Still, this is the best new film I've seen this year. The ending coda is wrenchingly strong with Aida hosting a first grade presentation as the murderers of her husband and sons gaze rhapsodically at their progeny. An unsparing portrait of genocide, up there with The Ascent, Come and See, Katyn and Son of Saul.