Quo vadis, Aida? (2020)

Directed by: Jasmila Zbanic | 102 minutes | drama, history | Actors: Jasna Djuricic, Izudin Bajrovic, Boris Ler, Dino Bajrovic, Johan Heldenbergh, Raymond Thiry, Boris Isakovic, Emir Hadzihafizbegovic, Reinout Bussemaker, Teun Luijkx, Juda Goslinga, Jelena Kordic, Alban Ukaj, Ermin Bravo, Edita Malovic Joes Brauers, Sol Vinken, Sanne den Hartogh, Job Raaijmakers, Irena Melcer, Rijad Gvozden

Eastern Bosnia, 1995. Aida Selmanagic (Jasna Đuričić) works as an interpreter at the Dutch UN base in Srebrenica when the Serbian army takes over the city. Thousands of Bosnian Muslims, including Aida’s husband and two sons, flee to the nearby UN camp in search of shelter. As an interpreter, Aida is allowed to enter the overcrowded camp along with some refugees and aid workers, but thousands of others are kept outside the gates of the camp and left to their own devices. While Aida does everything she can to be reunited with her family, she also tries to bring order to the chaos of the camp.

In “Quo vadis, Aida?” focuses on the Srebrenica genocide. The events surrounding this harrowing mass murder are seen almost entirely through the eyes of Aida, a character loosely based on the famous interpreter Hasan Nuhanović. While the film is largely set in one location, “Quo vadis, Aida?” never empty or monotonous. This is a gripping and heartbreaking film, which was quite rightly nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.

Jasna Đuričić’s acting is one of the main reasons why the film works so well. As Aida she knows no moment of rest. Refugees need to be calmed down. Passports must be made. There has to be constant dialogue with the Dutch Blue Helmets. Everything is moving at lightning speed and with every minute the overall picture of the situation seems to become more and more unreal. As a result, we are constantly on the side of Aida. Jasna Đuričić displays her unceasing willpower from start to finish with gusto. She is a woman who is not afraid to resist all men, often in higher rank, who try to undermine her. She does not show the steadfastness of her character with exaggerated emotion or screaming dialogues, but with silence and revealing glances. It is a highly expressive acting role, which makes her long for a further expansion of her film career.

“Quo vadis, Aida?” is a compelling and detailed film about one of the greatest war crimes of the last century. It’s not an easy viewing experience, but an important one. While watching the film, you keep asking yourself how it ever got to this point. Was it sloppiness? Inexperience? Cowardice? A lack of apathy? A combination of all that, or something completely different? The viewer does not get an unequivocal answer. In this regard, the film is more like a mirror to the past, and to remember that we as humanity are never far from cruelty and bigotry.