Our rating: 3 out of 5

Rated: R

reviewed by Charity Bishop
 

It is hard to talk about some films because it is more about world events and fragments of history than a fabricated plot. I was too young to pay much attention to the news when Sarajevo was under siege, but having seen this film will never forget the horrors of that dreadful time in Bosnia. Welcome to Sarajevo is not a "fun" film to watch, but neither is it perversely dark. It has wonderful and touching moments to counter the anguish of seeing so many lives torn apart. But it does leave you wondering, "Why didn't we do something?"

Bosnia is in a state of internal war between two religious groups and the city of Sarajevo is the heart of the violence. Snipers pick off ordinary people in the street and there to cover the carnage and attempt to force the rest of the world to take notice are the adrenaline-driven journalists. Representing all the major countries of the world and living together in a dorm, often on the front lines, their cameras panning bloodied bodies and screaming children whose mothers have just been killed, they lightheartedly joke about when or if they will ever leave, but all of them face a grim reality of helplessness. Their only weapon is television. Foremost among them is Michael Henderson (Stephen Dillane), an Englishman with a heart for the children of Sarajevo. Ever since witnessing an altar boy running down the street in bloodstained robes, he has been haunted by the innocents caught in the middle of war.

Though his friends warn him against emotional involvement, he starts filming footage at a local orphanage in an attempt to raise public awareness and encourage the government to withdraw the children from the front lines. Among the orphans there is a nine-year-old named Emira, who has undertaken responsibility for another child, an infant she has named "Roadrunner." Desperate to be out of Sarajevo, she begs Michael to promise her that he will get her out of Bosnia. Eventually, a van with diplomatic immunity is allowed to transport out the kids who have friends and family outside Bosnia. Emira does not qualify but Michael refuses to leave her behind. Both a touching story of how a man saved a child's life and a harrowing glimpse into the grim realities of open warfare on city streets, this film is one you will never forget because the images it leaves you with are haunting, and there are often no answers for why things happen.

In one particularly terrifying scene, diplomatic immunity is ignored by a passing caravan of soldiers, who choose to leave with a half-dozen children whose fate will never be known. In another, a friend of Michael's returns home after a long day at work, goes into his kitchen -- and is killed by sniper fire. Scenes have been carefully reconstructed for cinematic purposes but mingled with them are real footage of the carnage in the streets. Knowing it is real and that this really happened makes it emotionally startling -- we see bodies littering the street, drenched in blood; men with part of their faces in shreds, a woman whose foot has been blown off, leaving nothing but mangled remains and sinew attaching her foot to her ankle. The camera pans scenes such as these several times, including lingering on two infants who were killed in a crossfire. The opening scene is of a woman in a wedding party being shot in the chest. It's sickening because this really happened.

Apart from that there are a few other things worth mentioning. A fully naked man is shown from the front chasing the bus as it leaves Bosnia. There is not an extraordinary amount of foul language but one harsh abuse of deity and a half dozen or more f-words are present. I spent the entire two hours hoping Michael would not be killed, so allow me to spare you my anxieties and promise that the movie does have a happy ending. There is an unexpected turn that may cause you some stress toward the end but it has a surprisingly good outcome, so the harrowing moments of war are countered by overwhelming hope for the future of Bosnia. It is not a movie for overly sensitive viewers, but for those who are interested in history, it's an excellent film, full of compassion and grace, on an immensely sad point in time. Some might call it "preachy" for its condemnation of the United Nations, and no, it does not get into criticism of both sides as much as it should (one quip from a character implies that the world does not care because Muslims are being killed; if Christians were the target, the UN would have intervened long ago), but I will never forget it and neither will you.