Welcome To Sarajevo
Encyclopedia
Welcome to Sarajevo is a British
war film
from 1997. It is directed by Michael Winterbottom
. The screenplay is by Frank Cottrell Boyce
and is based on the book Natasha's Story
by Michael Nicholson
.
) travels to Sarajevo
, the besieged capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina
or, in the words of a UN
soldier, "the 14th worst place on earth". He meets American star journalist Jimmy Flynn (Woody Harrelson
) on the chase for the most exciting stories and pictures. Henderson and Flynn have friendly arguments and differences while individually reporting for their respective news agencies. They stay at the Holiday Inn, which was one of the more popular hotels in Sarajevo, filled with journalists. ITN hires Risto (Goran Višnjić
) to be their translator along the way. Their work permits them blunt and unobstructed views of the suffering of the people of Sarajevo. Daily bombings and sniper attacks on the civilians of Sarajevo are only a fraction of what the crew endures while in Sarajevo. The situation changes when Henderson makes a report from an orphanage located on the front lines (Ljubica Ivezic Orphanage) in which two hundred children live in desperate conditions. Shockingly, the daily siege of Sarajevo, on which Henderson reports, does not make the lead story back home. Afterwards, he decides to make the orphanage his lead story, hoping it would get much attention as it is already in a desperate state.
With the help of American aid worker Nina (Marisa Tomei
), Henderson tries to get some of the children out of the city, and out of the country. They want to find homes for some of these children outside the country, until the war is over. At first, the getaway is threatened with failure when the bus is constantly harassed at Serbian checkpoints. One particular scene that sticks out is when the bus filled with the children is stopped by Serbian
militiamen. One Serbian soldier walks onto the bus with a big gun, and reads a list of a few children's names that are on the bus, and orders them to get off. Nina desperately tries to explain to this soldier that they have the paperwork for all of these children and that she is responsible for their safety. The soldier threatens to kill everyone on the bus, and continues to read off a list of names. It's important to mention however, that all of the names he read were the names of only Serbian children/orphans. This brings panic and fear as no one can stop the Serbs from taking these kids off the bus and onto their convoys. The Serbs leave with the Serbian kids and the bus was allowed to continue. However, in the end, Henderson manages to smuggle a Bosniak
girl, Emira (Emira Nušević), out of the country. Taking Emira with him was an illegal act, since neither of Emira's parents signed her over to Henderson. Since her parents rarely ever seen Emira, the Orphanage director, Mrs. Savic, decides to sign off for Emira, since Mrs. Savic has been like a real mother to her. Henderson met Emira back when he first started doing reports on the orphanage. It was back then that he foolishly promised her that he'd take her to London with him.
When Henderson finally makes it to London with Emira, he starts to feel like he escaped hell. This period of tranquility does not last long. He receives a heartbreaking phone call from Flynn in Sarajevo, who tells Henderson that Emira actually has a mother. Not only that, but her mother suddenly wants Emira back in her life for good. Emira has slowly adapted to her new life in London and tells Henderson she does not want to go back to Sarajevo.
Henderson decides to go back to Sarajevo to settle these issues. The city now is worse than before. Not only has the siege continued, but more internal organized crime began to rise. He meets once again with Risto, who now, isn't working as a translator. Risto is now a soldier in the Bosnian Army defending Sarajevo. Risto and Henderson desperately try to find Emira's mother, but get caught up in dangerous situations. Finding Emira's mother gets even harder once Risto is shot and killed by a sniper while in his home. Henderson eventually meets up with Zeljko, Drazen Sivak, who was once the head of the concierge desk at the Holiday Inn. Zeljko is now an ordinary citizen, and decides to help Henderson because he would constantly give Zeljko cigarettes while in the hotel, which according to him, "were very [useful]."
They eventually find Emira's mother. She gives them good reasons for wanting Emira back; however, she decides to let Henderson adopt Emira, after her phone call with Emira does not go well.
It's important to mention that during the middle of the movie, one of Risto's old friends, named Harun,(who is a musician/cellist) said that he would play a concert live on the streets, but only when Sarajevo becomes the #1 worst place on Earth. He claimed that "the people will die happily listening to my music." When he had introduced this idea in the middle of the movie, Sarajevo was only the 14th worst place on Earth. The movie ends with Harun doing what he promised. Harun is on a big hill overlooking Sarajevo playing his cello, with hundreds of people coming to watch him. Henderson and Flynn both attend his concert. Children from the orphanage who did not leave Sarajevo also attend. Henderson gives Harun a sad smile because Harun delivered on his promise. Sarajevo will remain under siege.
The closing credits say that Emira still lives in Britain, which implies that it is based on a true story.
).
Welcome to Sarajevo was the first feature film about the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina
. Shot just a few months after the war on locations in Sarajevo
and Croatia
, the film uses real ruins and war debris to give the film a feeling of authenticity, and many scenes of the characters witnessing and reporting on street carnage were intercut with actual video footage of the events.
. It was used in ironical sense, since in the background, real scenes of the siege of Sarajevo were shown, with people being wounded by bombs, blood everywhere on the streets etc. The second widely known piece is Adagio in G minor
by Remo Giazotto
, which is based on a fragment from a Sonata in G minor by Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni and has been used in many films and advertisements. House of Love's "Shine On" (Creation, 1987) and Stone Roses' "I Wanna Be Adored" (Silvertone, 1989) were among the hip and colorful English independent rock classics that contrasted sharply with the dark barbarism affecting the people of Sarajevo, in a sense continuing the use of the song in a war movie the way 1960s rock anthems were employed in such Vietnam War movies as Apocalypse Now or Platoon, but updating the anthems to those closer to the era the film is portrayed in.
. It was nominated for the Golden Palm and for the Golden Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival
. It was awarded a "Special Recognition for Excellence in Filmmaking" by the National Board of Review (USA) during the 69th National Board of Review Awards (1997)
.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
from 1997. It is directed by Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
. The screenplay is by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Frank Cottrell Boyce
-Awards:*2004: Buch des Monats des Instituts für Jugendliteratur/Book of the Month by the Institute for Youth Literature , Millions*2004: Carnegie Medal, Millions*2004: Luchs des Jahres , Millions...
and is based on the book Natasha's Story
Natasha's Story
Natasha's Story is a 1994 book by war correspondent Michael Nicholson and is based on his work for the British news broadcaster, ITN. Deeply shocked about the catastrophic situation of 200 orphaned children in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nicholson adopted a girl, Natasha, under adventurous circumstances...
by Michael Nicholson
Michael Nicholson
Michael Nicholson OBE is an English journalist and former ITN Senior Foreign Correspondent.- Journalistic career :Born in Romford, Essex, Nicholson attended the University of Leicester. Nicholson was a war reporter for ITN, who reported from wars in Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Vietnam, Cambodia,...
.
Synopsis
In 1992, ITN reporter Michael Henderson (Stephen DillaneStephen Dillane
Stephen J. Dillane is an English actor. He won a Tony Award for his lead performance in Tom Stoppard's play The Real Thing.-Early life:...
) travels to Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, the besieged capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
or, in the words of a UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
soldier, "the 14th worst place on earth". He meets American star journalist Jimmy Flynn (Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
) on the chase for the most exciting stories and pictures. Henderson and Flynn have friendly arguments and differences while individually reporting for their respective news agencies. They stay at the Holiday Inn, which was one of the more popular hotels in Sarajevo, filled with journalists. ITN hires Risto (Goran Višnjić
Goran Višnjic
Goran Višnjić is a Croatian actor who has appeared in American and British films and television productions. He is best known for his role as Dr. Luka Kovač in the hit television series ER...
) to be their translator along the way. Their work permits them blunt and unobstructed views of the suffering of the people of Sarajevo. Daily bombings and sniper attacks on the civilians of Sarajevo are only a fraction of what the crew endures while in Sarajevo. The situation changes when Henderson makes a report from an orphanage located on the front lines (Ljubica Ivezic Orphanage) in which two hundred children live in desperate conditions. Shockingly, the daily siege of Sarajevo, on which Henderson reports, does not make the lead story back home. Afterwards, he decides to make the orphanage his lead story, hoping it would get much attention as it is already in a desperate state.
With the help of American aid worker Nina (Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
), Henderson tries to get some of the children out of the city, and out of the country. They want to find homes for some of these children outside the country, until the war is over. At first, the getaway is threatened with failure when the bus is constantly harassed at Serbian checkpoints. One particular scene that sticks out is when the bus filled with the children is stopped by Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
militiamen. One Serbian soldier walks onto the bus with a big gun, and reads a list of a few children's names that are on the bus, and orders them to get off. Nina desperately tries to explain to this soldier that they have the paperwork for all of these children and that she is responsible for their safety. The soldier threatens to kill everyone on the bus, and continues to read off a list of names. It's important to mention however, that all of the names he read were the names of only Serbian children/orphans. This brings panic and fear as no one can stop the Serbs from taking these kids off the bus and onto their convoys. The Serbs leave with the Serbian kids and the bus was allowed to continue. However, in the end, Henderson manages to smuggle a Bosniak
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
girl, Emira (Emira Nušević), out of the country. Taking Emira with him was an illegal act, since neither of Emira's parents signed her over to Henderson. Since her parents rarely ever seen Emira, the Orphanage director, Mrs. Savic, decides to sign off for Emira, since Mrs. Savic has been like a real mother to her. Henderson met Emira back when he first started doing reports on the orphanage. It was back then that he foolishly promised her that he'd take her to London with him.
When Henderson finally makes it to London with Emira, he starts to feel like he escaped hell. This period of tranquility does not last long. He receives a heartbreaking phone call from Flynn in Sarajevo, who tells Henderson that Emira actually has a mother. Not only that, but her mother suddenly wants Emira back in her life for good. Emira has slowly adapted to her new life in London and tells Henderson she does not want to go back to Sarajevo.
Henderson decides to go back to Sarajevo to settle these issues. The city now is worse than before. Not only has the siege continued, but more internal organized crime began to rise. He meets once again with Risto, who now, isn't working as a translator. Risto is now a soldier in the Bosnian Army defending Sarajevo. Risto and Henderson desperately try to find Emira's mother, but get caught up in dangerous situations. Finding Emira's mother gets even harder once Risto is shot and killed by a sniper while in his home. Henderson eventually meets up with Zeljko, Drazen Sivak, who was once the head of the concierge desk at the Holiday Inn. Zeljko is now an ordinary citizen, and decides to help Henderson because he would constantly give Zeljko cigarettes while in the hotel, which according to him, "were very [useful]."
They eventually find Emira's mother. She gives them good reasons for wanting Emira back; however, she decides to let Henderson adopt Emira, after her phone call with Emira does not go well.
It's important to mention that during the middle of the movie, one of Risto's old friends, named Harun,(who is a musician/cellist) said that he would play a concert live on the streets, but only when Sarajevo becomes the #1 worst place on Earth. He claimed that "the people will die happily listening to my music." When he had introduced this idea in the middle of the movie, Sarajevo was only the 14th worst place on Earth. The movie ends with Harun doing what he promised. Harun is on a big hill overlooking Sarajevo playing his cello, with hundreds of people coming to watch him. Henderson and Flynn both attend his concert. Children from the orphanage who did not leave Sarajevo also attend. Henderson gives Harun a sad smile because Harun delivered on his promise. Sarajevo will remain under siege.
The closing credits say that Emira still lives in Britain, which implies that it is based on a true story.
Cast
- Stephen DillaneStephen DillaneStephen J. Dillane is an English actor. He won a Tony Award for his lead performance in Tom Stoppard's play The Real Thing.-Early life:...
- Michael Henderson - Woody HarrelsonWoody HarrelsonWoodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
- Flynn - Marisa TomeiMarisa TomeiMarisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
- Nina - Emira Nusevic - Emira
- Kerry FoxKerry FoxKerry Fox is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie An Angel at My Table directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and Television Awards....
- Jane Carson - Goran VišnjićGoran VišnjicGoran Višnjić is a Croatian actor who has appeared in American and British films and television productions. He is best known for his role as Dr. Luka Kovač in the hit television series ER...
- Risto Bavic - James NesbittJames NesbittJames Nesbitt is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher like his father, so he began a degree in French at the University of Ulster...
- Gregg - Emily LloydEmily Lloyd-Early life:Emily Lloyd Pack was born in London, the daughter of Sheila , now known as , a theatrical agent who was a longtime secretary at Harold Pinter's stage agency, and Roger Lloyd-Pack, a stage actor, well-known as Trigger in the British hit sitcom Only Fools and Horses. Her grandfather,...
- Annie McGee - Igor Dzambazov - Jacket
- Gordana Gadzic - Mrs. Savic
- Juliet AubreyJuliet AubreyJuliet Aubrey is a British actress, best known for her role as Helen Cutter on Primeval .-Career:Aubrey attended to King's College London, where she studied Classics and Archaeology...
- Helen Henderson - Drazen Sivak - Zeljko
- Vesna Orel - Munira
- Davor Janjić - Dragan
- Vladimir Jokanović - Emira's Uncle
Style
Michael Winterbottom portrays the events with brutal realism. In the opening sequence, there is a shooting at a wedding party. Other shocking sequences include the stopping of a bus, the kidnapping of orphaned Serbian children by the Serbian forces and the death-by-sniper of the interpreter and driver, Risto Bavić (Goran VišnjićGoran Višnjic
Goran Višnjić is a Croatian actor who has appeared in American and British films and television productions. He is best known for his role as Dr. Luka Kovač in the hit television series ER...
).
Welcome to Sarajevo was the first feature film about the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
. Shot just a few months after the war on locations in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, the film uses real ruins and war debris to give the film a feeling of authenticity, and many scenes of the characters witnessing and reporting on street carnage were intercut with actual video footage of the events.
Soundtrack
Two widely known pieces of music were used in the film, among the others. The first one is Don't Worry Be Happy by Bobby McFerrinBobby McFerrin
Robert "Bobby" McFerrin, Jr. is an American vocalist and conductor. He is best known for his 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". He is a ten-time Grammy Award winner.-Life:...
. It was used in ironical sense, since in the background, real scenes of the siege of Sarajevo were shown, with people being wounded by bombs, blood everywhere on the streets etc. The second widely known piece is Adagio in G minor
Adagio in G minor
The Adagio in G minor for violin, strings and organ continuo, is a neo-Baroque composition popularly attributed to the 18th-century Venetian master Tomaso Albinoni, but composed by the 20th-century musicologist and Albinoni biographer Remo Giazotto and based on the disputed discovery of a...
by Remo Giazotto
Remo Giazotto
Remo Giazotto was an Italian musicologist, music critic, and composer, mostly known through his systematic catalogue of the works of Tomaso Albinoni...
, which is based on a fragment from a Sonata in G minor by Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni and has been used in many films and advertisements. House of Love's "Shine On" (Creation, 1987) and Stone Roses' "I Wanna Be Adored" (Silvertone, 1989) were among the hip and colorful English independent rock classics that contrasted sharply with the dark barbarism affecting the people of Sarajevo, in a sense continuing the use of the song in a war movie the way 1960s rock anthems were employed in such Vietnam War movies as Apocalypse Now or Platoon, but updating the anthems to those closer to the era the film is portrayed in.
Award Nominations
The film made its world premiere on May 9, 1997, at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival1997 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Isabelle Adjani *Gong Li *Mira Sorvino *Paul Auster *Tim Burton *Luc Bondy *Patrick Dupond *Mike Leigh *Nanni Moretti *Michael Ondaatje -Feature film competition:...
. It was nominated for the Golden Palm and for the Golden Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
. It was awarded a "Special Recognition for Excellence in Filmmaking" by the National Board of Review (USA) during the 69th National Board of Review Awards (1997)
National Board of Review Awards 1997
The 69th National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 1997, were announced on 9 December 1997 and given on 9 February 1998.-Top 10 films:#L.A...
.