alma_halliwell

I watched it more than 3 times and every time I find another little detail that is so amazingly interwoven in this story. It may look like another story about the war but I actually liked it since it captures the essence of relationships within family and with neighbors.

Although some of the characters are stereotypical but they still didn't cease to exist in reality such as for instance the one played by the legendary Nada Djurevska. We all have one of those neighbors who just cannot resist knowing everything and sticking their nose in where is not wanted.

Also the character of aunt and her way of cleaning to avoid contemplating the life and losing her son are so realistic. One of the best actors Mustafa Nadarevic in the region brought the character of uncle Idriz to life in an outstanding way and it was not surprising. Many little arguments between aunt and uncle made me nostalgic and laugh at the same time since they depict the nature of old generation marriages. She reminded me of my late grandmother.

I recommend this movie to anybody who would like to understand the part of Bosnian culture but also the dynamics within one family and neighborhood (in Bosnian 'mahala').

Such a realistic portrayal of marriage and relationships in general that it literally hurts to watch. No other couple expect Winslet-DiCaprio would manage to breathe life in these two characters. It is magnificent how slow and how painful life can be when we realise we didn't fulfill something we wanted. I usually pick a side when I watch a movie sometimes consciously sometimes without being aware of it but this time I couldn't blame neither of them. In real life this happens so often, we don't have bad guy- good guy but it just doesn't work due to a variety of intrinsic or outer reasons.

We spend our lives scared of dying and growing old but in fact we find out at some point that fear of death pushes us forward. It's a wonderfully written story. Although I am not a fan of fantasy elements but since it shares a great point I enjoyed every single moment of the movie. I began watching it a year ago and I stopped it after 10 or 15 minutes since I just didn't find it interesting. However today it was intriguing and not at all boring which just proves me once again that we have to be in a certain state of mind to enjoy some movies. It reminded me a bit of Benjamin Buttons although it bears no similarity in the plot just the idea - different aging process or lack of it for that matter.