Quo Vadis, Aida?
★★★★★
What a gut punch Quo Vadis, Aida? is. Like most Americans, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to international affairs and sadly, I had no prior knowledge about the Bosnia War of 1995 or the Srebrenica Massacre that this film depicts. This is unlike any war film that I had seen before. It solely focuses on the civilians who are forced to abandon their homes and we rarely see acts of violence. When we do, a lot of the carnage is off-screen, and the director, Jasmila Žbanić, does an amazing job of portraying angst and fear, especially of the unknown. The tension that exists in this film slowly is wound up and the audience can just feel that the breaking point is about to happen at any moment.
Jasna Đuričić who plays the title character of Aida (a translator in more ways than one) is terrific in how she has to balance being the real peacemaker when the U.N. fails to take control of a dire situation. She has to balance being a mother, serving as an interpreter and managing the expectations of her community. As Aida frantically runs from one place to another, we feel the pressure that she does as she has to just do something when no one else seems to be willing to do so. This film gives voice to the voiceless and allows us to sit in the confusion of the civilians. There have been a lot of war movies that have brilliantly showcased the senselessness of war, but this one hits harder because we are put in the place of the helpless, not the soldiers themselves. Quo Vadis, Aida? is a terrific and important film and I hope is not soon forgotten.
