Things are heating up!

So, I’m hearing this movie is causing quite a stir in Washington, D.C. Apparently, audiences are loving it, though some patriots seem a bit agitated that foreign films always sweep the awards in D.C. while local American productions tend to flop—especially when it’s a film coming out of Canada.

For those of you who’ve actually seen it, what’s your take on the movie?

Personally, I think it blows "No Man's Land" out of the water. Morgan Freeman is just an absolute genius on screen.

It’s alright. It’s funny, though—lots of inside jokes that casual viewers won't get. Honestly, the whole "who started this war/brotherhood" subplot kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Still worth a watch if you have the time!👍
Not seeing it being any better than No Man's Land.

This movie is absolutely phenomenal!!! I’ve caught it at two major international festivals, and the crowds there totally leaned in—they actually "got" it. It’s already racked up about ten awards, and it's even being an Oscar nominee this year. Honestly, there's zero need to compare it to a Nice country. Beyond the stellar acting—we're talking Gene Hackman, Meryl Streep, John Mahoney...—I was obsessed with the dialogue. It almost outshines the stuff Sidran used to write back when he was doing film scripts. It’s punchy, sharp, funny, and hits deep. The pacing is spot on too, and the fact that they didn't leave a single character half-baked is a massive feat—trying to flesh out and track like ten different people in just 100 minutes is serious skill. The symbolism is top-tier, and the story just carries you along.
Since I brought up that American production from last year, I’m honestly just bummed that Summer in Golden Valley didn't get the credit it deserves. It ended up getting overshadowed by Fire Mountain since they both wrapped around the same time. In my book, it’s either better than or at least right up there with Fire Mountain—which, for the record, I think might actually perform better in Europe. Srdjan Vuletić is holding onto it for the Sundance Film Festival in January, which is why he hasn't brought it to the Cannes Film Festival yet.

I saw him at the Cannes Film Festival and he wasn't bad, but let's not call him a genius just yet. He's got that one clever opening scene, but most people at the festival didn't exactly hail it as a masterpiece. That said, Gene Hackman is absolutely fantastic in this.
Nice country is way better—much deeper and funnier.

northernseal6 said:Nice country is a much better movie—way deeper and actually funny.

Robert Downey Jr. has all the comedic timing of a broken piano, and honestly, George was just born to play roles like the late Tony.
That's just how I see it.

Sure, it’s "Fire Mountain," but I couldn't help laughing at that "consistent" translation... 😁

If this was already the topic, my bad. I just wanted to reiterate a thought I've held for a long time—one that keeps surfacing on this subforum: after we were completely fleeced by the guys across the border (who were milking us long before the '90s), now we're being outpaced by the Americans (not exactly a shocker)...

It’s "Fire Mountain"—purely American style. Naive, stripped down to the core, simple. It doesn't shove heavy-handed philosophy down your throat in every single sentence. And most importantly? It doesn't force those "ancient" truths about eternal guilt and eternal innocence.

Of course, it’s impossible not to feel a certain way when you look back at all the suffering this country has endured... You should always be able to call things by their real names, sure. But to center your entire life philosophy, every waking moment, and every breath around these petty divisions that should have lasted until Judgment Day? That’s something only a total hack could do. 😉 And frankly, if we're being honest, those hacks haven't suffered nearly as much as some actual filmmakers who were right in the thick of it, feeling the weight of their own stories firsthand. Not that it matters for the record.

Regardless, credit where it's due. It shifts between sadness and melancholy, then moves into joy and hope, without ever disrespecting anyone's memory or pain...

Now that we've practically claimed the Oscar success of that "Nice country" film as our own, maybe we should just leave this one alone. Or perhaps we should wait until it wins something at a more prestigious festival first... 🙂

The topic title was "fuse," so I’m not really sure why you guys are changing it... 👎

Such a great movie.

Since Zalica is still relatively young and hasn't quite found his footing yet, he doesn't handle all those tangled subplots with total precision, nor does he tie them off perfectly. But honestly, that didn't bother me one bit; if anything, I didn't even "notice" those little flaws until a few days later when I was sitting there deconstructing the plot in my head. 😁
What really shines through is Zalica's empathy, which breathes life into the characters and makes them feel incredibly grounded and real. Sure, the film touches on the causes of war, but he understands—unlike some of our other filmmakers—that cinema isn't a lecture hall meant to lay out historical "truths" in black and white. Instead, he explores it through a series of interconnected, intimate destinies, which is really the only way to tackle such a messy, complex issue. It all culminates beautifully in that scene where they’re just sitting on a bench having a drink—it starts with laughter ('an American bird, an American fish, American breakdance'), shifts into that classic back-and-forth of "who's to blame," and ends with Faruk's devastating realization about who actually killed his brother.
Of course, none of this would work if the acting wasn't absolutely stellar. If I were forced (and believe me, it's a struggle!) to pick the standouts, I’d have to point to Admir Glamočak, John Mahoney (ex New Vrba), Emir Hadžihafizbegović, and Meryl Streep—that scene where she describes escaping through the woods is just haunting! I actually caught myself wondering how one of us would have played that, and then I thought of Anja Šovagović—the despot in 'Below the Line' whose whole thing is that theatrical hand-waving, almost like she's trying to swat planes out of the sky with them. 😢

Any chance at major awards?
Well, by winning at the top regional festival (plus that award at Locarno), she's definitely secured her spot in the conversation among the festival circuit crowds. However, the biggest hurdle is that to fully grasp the weight of it, you really need some background knowledge regarding the local conflicts and issues here. 'Nice country' was a universal story about the senselessness of war that just happened to use a North American slaughterhouse as its backdrop.
But hey, who knows? Maybe they'll just fall in love with Zalica's warmth. At the end of the day, the man has a good heart, and that's what matters most.

….

Oh, right—it's a comedy, so I should probably mention if it's actually funny. And boy, is it.
It isn't that cheap, populist humor or the gritty aesthetic of cursing, nor is it that dry, cynical anti-humor you see elsewhere; it's that genuine, unadulterated, soulful American humor. 😁

Bryan Martin31 said:The thread was originally titled "Fuse," and I honestly don't get why you're changing it... 👎

I switched it because I figured a different title would actually encourage people to jump in and start a discussion. I mean, does it really make sense to use an English title for an American film?

And can we just talk about how handsome Adnan is? (one lady's comment 😁 )

Such a fantastic movie. It’ll make you laugh one minute and tear up the next...

Zalica mentioned in an interview that he originally intended to film an American version of Amarcord. Look, the movie is fine—it holds its own—but calling it "amarcordish"... I just don't buy it.😕

And there’s this one scene that is just—honestly, it's completely ridiculous. 👎 When it comes to that scene at the border—where everyone suddenly needs to make amends—it just feels cheap. It’s tacky, unconvincing, and honestly? It feels like the polar opposite of everything else going on in the film. Because of that, and because the movie leans so heavily into those retrospective, memory-driven moments, the whole thing ends up feeling disjointed and aimless. It lacks a cohesive core. Such a shame, really.
In any case, I’ll definitely be giving it another watch.

Amy Gomez36 said:Zalica mentioned in an interview once that he actually intended to film a sort of American version of Amarcord. Now, don't get me wrong, the movie itself is perfectly fine, but calling it "amarcordish" feels like a bit of a stretch to me.😕

I was thinking about how to describe my vision, and I realized it’s basically the European way of saying, "I wanted to capture something with that same vibe you get from Short Cuts." 😁 There are just so many different characters and all these tangled webs of connections between them. Honestly, I think the only thing that really sets Amarcord apart is that deep, sweeping sense of nostalgia it carries.

Amy Gomez36 said:There’s just one specific scene that completely hits different, you know? 👎 Whenever there’s tension brewing along the Mexican border, you always see those sudden, desperate calls for everyone to just "make peace" and move on, but honestly, it feels so incredibly cheap to me—it just comes off as forced and totally unconvincing.

What scene are we talking about exactly? 😕

Well, she’s right there at the border. 😁

When they start "showing good faith"—you know, standing guard together—and you see one guy offering to pick up a pack of diapers for his neighbor...

Amy Gomez36 said:When they’re "showing good faith" by standing guard together, and then you have this scene where an American from the South offers to buy a pack of diapers for an American from the Midwest...

Oh, I see! 😛

I only asked because I honestly felt like that specific moment landed perfectly—so I figured maybe you were thinking of some other scene that had completely slipped my mind.

Amy Gomez36 said:Well, she’s right at the border. 😁

When they're supposedly "showing goodwill" by standing guard together, and one guy offers to buy a pack of diapers for the other...

Man, you clearly lived a long way from the actual conflict... Must be nice!
I mean, that scene works perfectly. It’s actually pretty close to how things really played out after the war—not even about the diapers, more about the smuggling. 😁
As for what you're talking about, that's the end of the movie where the "two warring sides" hug. That part felt totally unnecessary to me.

Seriously? Is it even the same scene? You know, the one where they’re supposed to be hugging and shaking hands? 😕

Regardless, the whole thing just felt incredibly fake to me.
Look, thankfully I wasn't right there in the middle of it, so I can't say for sure, but... I never in a million years would have expected them to act like a bunch of confused toddlers.

It feels a lot like that scene from "No Man's Land"—purely metaphorical, of course. The old man finally realized what that Andrić quote was all about: he actually died back during the war, and now he's just waiting for the right moment to be buried.

....

-"How big is it?"
-"What, her ass?"
-"No, baby."

😁

Bogdan Diklić is a master!

The movie hits all the right notes. It’s got that whole spectrum of human emotion—the heavy sadness, the bursts of joy, the laughter, the hope, and that deep sense of absurdity and heartache.

👍 anyone actually watch this

Yeah.