Kiss the Future

Look at us being socially and politically conscious rock stars, way back in the nineties. Let's make a documentary about how great we were for playing a concert in Sarajevo when the war was finally over.

I am sorry, but this movie got under my skin the wrong way. First of all the Popmart tour was a disaster, with several concerts not even being sold out, which was a first for U2. It was the worst of the tours in the entire carreer of U2.

This trip to Sarajevo was the only really good thing of that entire tour. Being there must have been exhilirating for the people over there. And if I remember correctly a great short film had already been made about it many years ago...

So I dont really get the point of looking back now with U2 idolizing themselves for being politically correct way back then. I would have far more valued U2 bringing attention to CURRENT political turmoil in the world, but they are playing it safe and sound in Las Vegas these days for petes sake!

First and foremost: this movie powerfully reminisces the horrible years of siege of Sarajevo, and the role of artistic expression in human coping and survival. Through statements of actual participants in Sarajevo's wartime underground art&music, and via the story of U2's support - movie makes excellent points of transcendental values such as empathy, equality, importance of peace and it's protection, active resistance against all sorts of aggressiveness, etc.

However, the authors made three unnecessary extensions to the main story : first - tried to explain historical context through short clips about Milosevic. That was waaay too simplistic; adequate only for those that must have a bad guy / food guy dichotomy in every story. It goes to the absurd explanation of M.'s fate ... indictment in Hague-ICJ, although that indictment is not related to the war in Bosnia!

Second: choosing Christiane Amanpour to talk about tough times of people under siege - is adding insult to the fate of millions hurt by the wars she & CNN supported (since late 90s).

Third: at the very end, the authors clumped 30ish seconds of, from their perspective, "modern evils" (Putin, Berlusconi, Trump,...) . If they (authors) really think that such a "conclusion" is appropriate - then they are setting themselves as propagandists. Who needs that?

Kiss the Future is an interesting film about the hope that U2 gave to the citizens of Sarajevo by supporting them throughout the war and organizing a concert 2 years after the Dayton peace agreement was signed.

However the film is written in a way that is trying to make it a "one-size-fits-all" war movie about the Siege of Sarajevo with a slight spinoff into the U2 concert and how much it meant for the Sarajevans in 1997, being a symbol of unity and prosperity after those hard years. In fact the whole "Kiss the Future" optimistic narrative is clustered into the final mi nutes as some sort of a triumph after presenting the viewer with some key data about the Siege of Sarajevo and the stories of people involved.

By trying to appeal to all audiences and present everything in a short amount of time it loses artistic value and sets itself up as a rather sad war drama movie instead of an optimistic historical event movie that saw the community come together and do the impossible just 2 years after the bombing stopped, with parts of the city still in ruins. Hence it feels like a poorly written documentary with badly selected actors that uses emotion and empathy to get good reviews and festival awards, especially after such an ending.

This is an incredible story about a tragic point in history and the collaboration of Bill Carter and U2 to force the world to look and see what was happening to Sarajevo. A MUST see!! I was a teenager when this happened, and I only followed it from a periphery at that age. See all of this incredible archival footage brought it all back. It was also incredible that there was so much footage on the people followed through the documentary. It makes the story telling much more real. I left this movie with the renewed belief that 1 person (Bill Carter) CAN move mountains. The director threaded the story perfectly and the interview settings are stunning!

This movie captured many nuances of the genocide that occurred in Sarajevo. To see many of the voices and people who tirelessly worked to maintain community in the spotlight during our darkest time is a grace we will not forget. It is one thing to survive, it is another to experience what were some of humanities brightest, most ingenious moments during the darkest time. We consider Kiss the Future as a documentary that is working to preserve the culture of our nation and city; one that examines how important diversity is not just on the surface but deep within the heart of how this city beats.