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FUSE
Written & Directed by: Pjer Zalica.
Released by: Global Film Initiative.
Country of Origin: Bosnia-Herzegovina/Austria/Turkey/France. 105 min. Not Rated.
Language: Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles.
DVD Features: Film notes. Director’s biography. Stills gallery. Discussion guide.
With: Enis Beslagic, Bogdan Diklic, Sasa Petrovic, Izudin Bajrovic, Jasna Zalica, Senad Basic & Admir Glamocak.

Just two years since Bosnia’s civil war hit the humble village of Tesanj, the town prepares for a goodwill visit from President Bill Clinton by ridding itself of its many whores, its drug trade, weapon caches, and the blatant lingering animosity toward Serbs. (Or, rather, it prepares by masquerading its brothel as a cultural center, stashing contraband weapons in a secret basement compartment, and temporarily shutting down its drug pushers.) One ruse follows another. And without a knowing hint of irony, a children’s chorus is to sing at Clinton’s arrival ceremony a ballad about a New Orleans brothel, “The House of the Rising Sun.”

It’s a dark but often hilarious look at post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina. Both pessimistic and optimistic, writer/director Pjer Zalica’s characters are desperate, wary, and longing for a different life without knowing how to get it (without murder, bribery, and trickery, that is). Each member of the large ensemble cast deals with their Waiting for Guffman anticipation in different ways. Black marketer Velija (Senad Basic) scrambles to temporarily cover his many business ventures from greater security from the town’s police force. The mayor will stop at nothing to prove to the visiting diplomat that his town is deserving of America’s blessings, financial and otherwise. And the grieving Zaim (Bogdan Diklic), who is a bit delusional, sees the visit as an opportunity to take an important person hostage and demand the return of a son who died in the recent war.

DVD Extras: For a film that takes on many issues, sometimes subtly and sometimes not, the discussion guide’s a laudable idea. A downloadable PDF file, it goes into specific detail about the film’s suggestions for contemporary Bosnian politics and culture. Zachary Jones
September 19, 2005