Quo vadis, Aida?

A two-hour history show and a chilling, gripping drama about the genocide in Sebrenica! There have been plenty of World War II movies, but a film about the greatest tragedy in modern history has only just arrived. I put the film off for a long time, not even its Oscar win could convince me, but it became a virtue out of necessity and I gave it a chance. Although I would have liked some war action, or more detailed executions – the only way the attempt to shock can work – it won me over in the end. Fortunately it has a great pace, the main character Aida is always running around somewhere, solving things and trying to save her family from execution. The emotions work quite well, the atmosphere is chilling, and it's definitely a situation none of us would want to find ourselves in. The acting is also top notch and the UN is shown in a not nice light. 75% (16/04/2023)

An uncomfortable and exhausting film in which the female protagonist imaginatively steps not in glass slipper shoes but in the snowshoes of a Siberian officer in the space of a single factory. The impression of the inevitable failure of all those chaotically organised efforts gets under you skin and you just watch in resignation to see when and how it will happen. And even though the film doesn't require us to engage deeply and its message works very universally, the ending is truly chilling. When it comes to reconstructing tragic chapters of history with an emphasis on the overlooked yet privileged woman-power, this is the way to do it – and Jasna Duric gives an amazing performance for which she deserves all the Oscars in the world. 85 % (15/01/2022)

This is absolutely superb European movie making at its absolute best. Even though you know (or at least suspect) during the first few minutes how it is all going to end, you are still going to devour the plot and everything happening in the movie, which simply flashes by. Plus, with bated breath, you are going to watch the main female protagonist and her inevitable struggles. Quo Vadis, Aida? is a compelling movie about futility and the importance of not giving up, even when it often feels as though the whole world is conspiring against you. [KVIFF 2021] (15/09/2021)

The height of the Bosnian-Serbian conflict in the mid-1990s depicted from the perspective of a Bosnian translator who is trying to protect her family during an evacuation of many thousands of people, while continuously interpreting communications between the two sides and high representatives of the UN. Her story and the depiction of the whole event are powerfully tense and incredibly absorbing from start to finish, told at a consistently brisk pace with the exception of a few quieter moments, and besides the firmly grasped direction and sophisticated screenplay (except for a few conspicuous coincidences that heighten the drama), the film is captivating due primarily to the lead actress’s excellent and entirely believable performance. The brutal climax is extended with an even more devastating ending bordering on emotional blackmail, thus making the film a very depressing affair which, however, corresponds to the actual events that inspired it. (21/08/2021)

I've seen the same stooped faces in almost every other movie about genocide, the same wild half-drunk aggressors also committing crimes. It's a cursed genre that tries to recall a traumatic history but is unwilling to portray it in all its horror out of respect. The entire historical experience is thus reduced to the details of tortured faces and uninventive crowd scenes, practices that unfortunately someone who is witnessing the eighth such cinematic approach to a similar subject has already been able to armor themselves against. As one shamefully unfamiliar with the realities of the Yugoslav war, I got the impression here that somewhere in Yugoslavia a hellhole had opened up and out of it crawled the lawfully evil Serbs, whose first words in the crib were "klevetajte svoje neprijatelje, gledajte ih gonjene pred sobom i slušajte jadikovke njihovih žena", and a rather black and white situation ensued. Which my experience with history in general tends to refute, of course. (31/12/2021)

After watching this alarming movie, I keep on wondering what the UN is good for. When the worst comes to worst, everyone just tries to save their own neck. Quo Vadis, Aida? is a masterfully crafted war drama that certainly deserves the attention of a wider audience. If only to make sure that we do not forget the atrocities that were committed on European soil in relatively recent times. (85%) (06/07/2022)

Very impressive and chilling coverage of relatively recent events. J. Duričić’s performance sends shivers down your spine. The way that cruelty and hopelessness is depicted is completely realistic and convincing. The tension in the movie rises perfectly, stirring your emotions. It’s a rough story, but we really should know even the dark moments of our history. (29/09/2021)