Venice (AFP)
The horror of the Srebrenica massacre seen through the eyes of a helpless mother: the fifth film by Bosnian Jasmila Zbanic, "Quo Vadis, Aida?", Opened Thursday the competition of the Venice Film Festival, which offers a place unique choice for female directors.
This poignant film takes a "feminist" look at the "men's game" of war, according to its director, one of eight women out of the eighteen filmmakers in the running for the Golden Lion this year at Venice.
The 45-year-old director, Golden Bear in Berlin in 2006 for "Sarajevo my Love", chose to tell the story of an interpreter working for the Dutch peacekeepers supposed to protect Bosnian civilians in Srebrenica.
The film is without concession on the responsibility of the United Nations, which were supposed to have made this city, which the Serbs had taken, a protected zone.
Srebrenica is the worst massacre on European soil since World War II, with more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys executed by Bosnian Serb forces.
"We always have the freedom to act with humanity," Jasmila Zbanic told the Mostra, believing that "some commanders (of the peacekeepers) could have changed things, even with few means".
In 1:43, this drama traces the course of the day of the massacre, July 11, 1995, seen from the UN camp, and the way in which the Serbs are playing with the weakness of the international forces.
The Bosnian interpreter, Aida, played by Jasna Djuric, must translate, without really knowing if she should believe it, the words of the head of the peacekeepers, Thom Karremans (played by the Belgian actor Johan Heldenbergh), who wants to reassure civilians placed under their protection.
As the Serbian soldiers approach, she will embark on an increasingly desperate quest to save her husband and two sons, who have taken refuge with thousands of other Bosnian civilians.
- Universal scope -
The main architect of the massacre, Serbian General Ratko Mladic, obsessed with his propaganda images, is played by Boris Isakovic.
Mladic was sentenced to life in prison in 2017 for genocide by international justice, and in particular for his role in Srebrenica.
He appealed.
How far can one remain passive without becoming an accomplice?
Must one disobey to save one's honor?
The peacekeepers had "mission to protect civilians with their weapons. However, they did not fire a single bullet!"
denounced the director, who underlines the "universal" scope of her film.
For this massacre less than two hours' flight from European capitals, she absolves a number of soldiers without rank, whom she has been able to meet and who have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder since the events, but denounces the "prejudices" that had been held. many Dutch soldiers against Bosnian Muslim men.
Convinced that if the facts happened again today, Europe "would not move a finger", Jasmila Zbanic assures that "Quo Vadis Aida?"
is not a pamphlet against the UN, but rather an exhortation to "work better" and give more resources to peacekeepers.
After "Sarajevo, mon Amour", portrait of a woman raped during the Bosnian war (1992-1995) confronted with the demons of her past, "Quo Vadis, Aida?"
could offer a prestigious new award to Jasmila Zbanic, herself a war survivor, who continues to explore the wounds of the Balkans.
"This film is dedicated to women, their sons, their husbands," she said.
In a completely different register, a second director would compete Thursday, the French Nicole Garcia, with a love drama, "Amants", featuring a trio of actors, Stacy Martin, Pierre Niney and Benoît Magimel.
© 2020 AFP