Synopsis

1993. On the front line, in the midst of no man’s land, Nino, a Serbian soldier, finds himself in a trench with two Bosnian soldiers, Čiki and Cera. The beginning of this profound, relentless and at the same time bizarre war satire is highly explosive: In order to set a trap for helpers, Cera, who is believed to be dead, is laid onto a mine, which can go off at the slightest movement. While Nino and Čiki blame each other for having started the war, they realise that in order to save themselves they need to work together. The situation threatens to escalate, when Cera suddenly shows a sign of life and both French Blue Helmets and British Journalists show up.

With his chamber-play-like staged film, Danis Tanović not only illustrates how futile war in general is but also excoriates the role the neutral UN and the international media had played in Bosnia. Despite of the depressive undertone, the dark humour and slapstick comedy in the film consistently succeed in making the audience grin. Having won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Satellite Award, this film still begs the question of whether we should be laughing at war.