Welcome to Sarajevo: A Review

Welcome to Sarajevo is an excellent political commentary on the subject of the world powers' inefficiency at problem solving. Based off the novel of the same name written by Michael Nicholson, the film was directed by Michael Winterbottom. Starring several actors claiming unreputable careers themselves, Stephen Dillane, Woody Harrelson, and Marisa Tomei never less play their roles in a stunning fashion. Possessing a brilliant script and a unique style of filmmaking, Welcome to Sarajevo is arguably one of the best “true” examinations of war.
The film follows the activities of an insane group of field journalists as they attempt to accurately cover the Bosnian war in the red hot city of Sarajevo. The atrocities are unthinkable, the damage unimaginable, the evident nonchalance on part of the UN, uncomfortable. Eventually, the group decides to try and help the people around them, rather than just document them. Focusing on the desperate children of Sarajevo, the group shows the world how dangerous their situation is, at the same time showing the utter lack of compassion on the part of the UN bureaucracy.
Not wanting to lose face, the UN caves, supporting the evacuation of the children most threatened within the city to Italy. The journalists follow; wanting to make sure the children reach their destination safely, and film along the way of course. Their journey is interrupted, however, by a Czech border patrol, which takes some of the children. Shocked by this sudden turn of events, one of the journalists spontaneously decides to take one of the children home with him, in this case a nine year old girl by the name of Emira. In London Emira finds a home, unsullied by the destruction and hate rampant in her homeland. The journalist, and the rest of his family, has, at the same time, grown to love Emira, every day a reminder of innocence, rescued by the barest of margins. All this is threatened, when Emira’s mother, presumed dead, discovers where her daughter has been, and decides she wants her back.
Our ever so compassionate journalist refuses to comply, and travels back to Bosnia to find Emira’s mother and convince her to let him adopt Emira. The situation in Sarajevo has, unfortunately, not changed in the least, and after several dangerous escapades, the journalist finds Emira’s mother. She, however, refuses to comply with his requests, and the journalist, now rather frustrated, has Emira’s mother follow him to his fellow journalists’ base of operations, where he has a video recording of Emira back in London. Showing the distraught mother the tape, he decides to let Emira talk to her mother herself, for the Bosnian woman still is unconvinced. The situation is settled in one dramatic instant, as Emira flat out tells her mother that she will not be returning to Bosnia, not for her, not for anyone. The movie soon ends, with the assurance that the real Emira, is safe, still living in London.
The theme in this film is pretty straightforward. It attempts to show the viewer the horrors of war, the tragedy that is part of life, and the effects such a situation has upon the people. It also attempts to express the political paradox evident in such violent wars. The fact that the most powerful countries on our earth cannot efficiently affect even the smallest and least influential pieces of the world, is something the filmmakers wanted to get across. The creators of this film do this an extremely clever way, not focusing on any one country in particular, although there is a slightly greater focus on the U.S., rather they aim their jabs solely upon the UN, and every country part of it.
The style used in the film itself was an excellent choice for the film’s dominant theme. Much of the footage was actual footage shot on location during the war presented in the world’s news broadcasts. What was not, was shot in the same gritty, slightly unclear, feel that true on scene news footage has. It also presented many elements of an action adventure film as well, helping to keep the audience on their toes, but the focus was too thoroughly pulled towards the dramatic style and story, that any true semblance to such a genre is lost. The film almost bordered on that of documentary in several areas as well, giving it an element of truth that made it much more believable and engaging.
It was, perhaps, this “combination” of genres between drama and documentary that became the strongest element within the film. It breaks down the traditional barriers one places around the mind when watching a film with such horrifying scenes, knowing that what you are watching is not real. In this film, however, one does not know what is real and what is fabricated, due to the amount of true footage present throughout, this, in short, strengthening the emotional appeal of the entire film. In the end, however, the film remains firmly in the drama genre, due to the fact that it is fiction and only based on actual happenings.
The film was very effective in the fact that the viewer is easily able to grasp the main themes present in the film. As I mentioned previously the amount of documentary like style the filmmakers use in the construction of the film is the primary drive behind this, pulling the viewer in, and then punching them in the heart. It gives the viewer a much different impression then one might think given the film’s prominent form of emotional appeal, namely the various war crimes and their effect on the citizens of Sarajevo. What one expects is to have a more saddened reaction. Instead Winterbottom presents the film in a much more shocking format, basically sidestepping the tearful reaction, digging much deeper. Instead of the more superficial reaction, one almost feels disappointment in humanity. It is a disappointment in the fact that human kind can be so brutal, but at the same time disappointment that human kind can be so utterly uncompassionate.
In the end, Welcome to Sarajevo is a truly powerful film, presenting its message in a unique fashion. Expertly directed and executed, in no way does the script or directing take away from its primary purpose. Essentially it is a warning, a warning of the consequences evident in the human loss of compassion. I thoroughly recommend this film to anyone who might not have missed it; its message needs to be heard.