Gori vatra

On one level, I find Pjer Zalica's "Gori vatra" (called "Fuse" in English) interesting because it shows us a culture that we rarely get to see. But beyond that, I like it's focus on people's lives and associations. The movie portrays a small town in Bosnia. The town has seen its share of problems, and tensions persist between the Bosnians and Serbs. That's when they hear that Bill Clinton will be visiting. Not only does everyone do their darnedest to fix up the town, but a diplomat comes to try and make peace between the Bosnians and Serbs, and some of the characters realize the flaws in their relationships with each other and the come to understand the mistakes that they've made in their lives. All the while, the local children are learning The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun" to sing to Clinton. But a surprise lies in wait.

So is the main focus on the results of the 1990s civil war in the Balkans, or on another aspect? Hard to say exactly. But I will say that I admired the movie, as a look at how recent history has affected the people in the region, and as a look at how sudden events throw people's lives into flux. Worth seeing.