Film Review: Quo Vadis, Aida?

Images courtesy of Palace Films.

If subtitled movies aren’t your thing, then, first of all, grow up. Second of all, luckily for you a decent chunk of this movie is in English due to that being the language of the UN. 

Jasmila Žbanić’s Quo Vadis, Aida? follows Aida, a former school teacher from Srebrenica turned translator for the UN towards the end of the Bosnian War. The film starts with the empty promises of the UN commander as Aida is forced time and time again to translate their pretty words, her pained face and sharp tongue betraying her true emotions. Srebrenica had been declared a UN safe zone yet still allowed 5 thousand men to be systematically killed in an act of blatant genocide,the failure of the UN and its inability to control the situation is maddening. We see the Dutch leaders outwardly resenting the people they were there to protect and later pandering to the leader of the Serbian Army, Ratko Mladić, in an attempt to end the war so they could go home, ignoring the fact that they were separating and then killing the male civilians.

But it is Aida’s heart-wrenching struggle to save her husband and two sons that centres the film. ‘Quo Vadis?’ is a Latin phrase meaning ‘where are you going?’ originating from Saint Peter’s words to the risen Christ who replies that he has returned to be crucified again. We see this in Aida’s futile attempts to give her family preferential treatment over the rest of the population of her village, her desperation finally amounting to no success, as she watches them being dragged away to their death. 

This isn’t the typical war movie, like Dunkirk or 1917 where we see men fighting in the trenches. The fight between the Bosnian and Serbian armies is never shown, we never see even a drop of blood, instead, we see the harsh reality of war and the impact it has on everyone, most importantly, the innocent, through the eyes of the affected civilians.

Most saddening was how these people on both sides knew each other - often in war-related films we see no connection between the two, they’re established purely as enemies from the beginning and remain so always. But the situation in former Yugoslavia is different, these people were once one country, living in the same cities, growing up together. The hiring of Serbian actress Jasna Đuričić to play Aida further highlights the similarity between their people.

The release of this movie comes at a pivotal time with the current rise in Serbian Nationalism. The Serbian-ruled part of Bosnia, known as Republika Srpska, has seen a steady rise in hate speech and the glorification of war criminals like Mladic, and most tellingly the refusal of many right-wing politicians to recognise the genocide. The current climate is similar to that of the lead up to the Bosnian War, with many articles reporting that Bosnia may be close to another civil war. 

So if you enjoy Oscar-nominated films, war movies that don’t glorify violence, and strong female protagonists, then Quo Vadis, Aida? is the film for you. Just don’t forget to bring a lot of tissues with you. 

4.5/5

Quo Vadis, Aida? is screening in cinemas nationally now.