days and hours
Kod Amidze Idriza
Significantly more upbeat than most contemporary cinema from this troubled region, Days and Hours revolves around good-hearted bachelor Fuke, who crosses the city in his beat-up car to fix his elderly uncle and aunt's old water heater. While he examines the water heater, they chat, and while no-one talks openly about the past, the atmosphere is nevertheless sorrowful. In these interactions, and those with the amiable neighbours, we discover his uncle and aunt have lost their son. Fuke's presence softens their silent anguish. If, as they remark, the war has turned things upside down, their approach from the heart offers a way to restore peace to their souls and, by extension, to all Bosnians. Although Days and Hours addresses the consequences of war, it does so with the lightest touch in this deeply human and wryly amusing portrait of a city and its inhabitants. "Fine gentle humor... Instead of tears and regrets, the story evolves into a festive, heart-soaring celebration of life" - Variety