Sydney ’16: Death in Sarajevo review: An unfulfilling drama that provokes some debate
An interesting feature from filmmaker Danis Tanovic, Death in Sarajevo takes place in one location, a hotel in the centre of Bosnia’s capital city, almost playing out in real time.
The Hotel Europa, prestigious, though cash-strapped, is imminently expecting an onslaught of foreign diplomats and heads of state, visiting town for the centenary of an assassination that is believed to had led to the start of World War I. However, there are problems in the bowels of the hotel as all of the staff are about to go on strike after not being paid for months.
There’s front of house supervisor Lamija (Snezana Markovic), attempting to get through the day following a heavy night and an embarrassing one night stand with one of the new kitchen staff; her mother Hatidza (Faketa Salihbegovic), the hotel’s longest serving employee down in the laundry room, who has just been elected strike leader following her predecessor being beaten in the parking lot; a French VIP rehearsing a speech in the hotel’s presidential suite; an extremely anxious hotel manager, Omer (Izudin Bajrovic), striving to keep it all together, and the members of a seedy underground club who have been up all night drinking and playing illegal hands of poker. Also, up on the roof, is a television news reporter conducting interviews with locals on war and its consequences, one of them seemingly a distant descendant of Gavrilo Pricip, the infamous 1914 assassin.
Tanovic’s film runs at a tight 85 minutes, and wastes no time in setting up proceedings and introducing the viewer to each of the aforementioned characters. His camera is fluid and controlled, beautifully capturing the action, epic, long tracking shots working comfortably alongside intense close-ups and video footage as a TV channel’s live footage is broadcast from the top of the hotel. The filmmaker’s cast of actors provide worthy performances, the highlight being the rooftop interaction between Muhamed Hadzovic’s Gavrilo and reporter Verdana (Vedrana Seksan), a scene that sets the tone and meaning of the satire; the argument as to whether Gavrilo’s ancestor was an assassin, criminal or national hero.
While the film is short in length, it feels much, much longer, our attention struggling to be held throughout. While the performances are good and worthy of out attention, and the direction solid, one can’t quite feel the lack of emotional investment as the story progresses.
The film raises political questions that could provoke debate, though by the rather lackluster ending may leave you slightly unfulfilled.
Death In Sarajevo review by Paul Heath, February 2016.
