Synopsis

In this documentary, set in Bosnia during the war, Pawlikowski steers clear of the usual cliches of war reporting. He takes on a more anthropological perspective relying not on commentary but on the power of images: a mass baptism before the final battle, the bizarre antics of the remaining members of the Karadjordje dynasty and the tribal chants of Serbian peasant/soldiers at the front line. The result is more universal enquiry into the nature of the nation state and the ethnocentric view of the world.