Collard Wanderings

Not At Your Local Megaplex

On Thursday we had a cool event put on by our church missions group that's focused on southeast Europe. It was a screening of a Bosnian film called "Kod amidze Idriza" (or it's marketed in English as "Days and Hours").

It is a relatively simple film that takes place almost entirely within a single house. The pace is pretty slow - it feels much more like other European films than a big Hollywood blockbuster. However, the actors do a wonderful job in keeping your interest and carrying the film.

Most literature, movies, etc. that are produced in the area tend to deal with the subject of the war. It was such a monumental event in everyone's lives. This film was interesting in that it only mentioned the war outright maybe one time, however I would say that the war kind of permeates the rest of the film. It comes out through the actions and motivations of the various characters.

Several good films have come out of Bosnia lately. In a discussion after our screening, one of the Bosnians who attended the event pointed out how the filmmakers have very limited budgets. The economy just isn't able to support big budget films. This has meant that they tend to have a very limited focus (like this film that just takes place around one house). No huge explosions or anything. It's a nice change to see a more artful film than what is typically at your local theater.

For some reason, we've heard much more about Bosnian films than Croatian films. It will be interesting to check out their films as well.

posted by Greg @ 6:51 AM