No. 360 : Where Eskimos Live (2002)

 

Where Eskimos Live at the IMDb

I picked this DVD up in a charity shop having never heard of it before. Well, its name starts with a ‘W’ so it must be decent! It does hold a reasonable 6.7/10 on IMDb, but I felt that was high and I’d be around half marks, if I was feeling generous.

Bob Hoskins stars as Sharkey, a tough as nails child trafficker who sports the worst accent since Sean Connery’s Egyptian in ‘Highlander’. The DVD box says Sharkey is English, but he has an Eastern European twang for some reason. I wonder if he was dubbed in post, as he doesn’t sound like the Bob we know and love.

Anyway, Sharkey has a fake UNICEF badge and backpack and is floating around Bosnia in 1995 looking to pick up some children. His motives aren’t immediately clear, but we know he has false credentials and is clearly up to something nefarious. It turns out it’s adoptions he’s facilitating but I think the subtext is far more noncey. He is pretty rubbish at his job, getting his papers and stuff taken off him on a regular basis. There is an air of lawlessness due to the war and  Sharkey is frankly underprepared.

He encounters Vlado who is part of a gang of orphans straight out of ‘Oliver Twist’. We know he’s a good guy as he befriends a Downs kid that the others shun. They have almost nothing, but they do have a nice light up globe on which Vlado points out Norway to his friend. ‘That’s where eskimos live’- he says. He may be nice but don’t have him as your phone a friend on ‘Millionaire’!

Vlado’s gang blow up a truck that contains a local Colonel’s daughter. He is rightfully pissed at this and vows to hunt down Bob and Vlado who have now joined forces. This minor peril is quickly dealt with, and the pair bond as they travel across the war-ravaged land with Bob getting some action along the way in a frankly strange sex scene.

The two eventually make it to Germany where Vlado is to be handed over to the gang leaders for a potential organ harvest. Will Bob take the money and walk away? What do you think?!

This was a decent effort, but the multi-nation production showed through, with a lot of dodgy accents and performances. The central relationship was poor with the kid playing Vlado being far too ‘stage school’ for my liking. There were scenes where he was screaming in delight and mugging away as Bob took polaroids that were just awful.

Bob didn’t convince either as a latter-day child catcher and his Road to Damascus style conversion didn’t ring true. He did give it his all however, especially by wearing a comedy style neck brace at the end, after he was beaten up with a trash can.

The story was pretty sleight too and I thought that the film must have been based on a true story, but no, this really was the best the scriptwriters could come up with.

To its credit the film did address some serious issues and the brutality and horrors of war, such as a big pile of corpses, was well done. Overall, the film lacked any tension or peril for me, with the cute kid and grumpy Bob not convincing to any degree, apart as a couple of actors cutting a pay cheque.

Not one that will live long in the memory and one that you will be able to find in my local charity shop sometime soon!

Best Bit - Bob's Full Bed

'W' Rating 10/23

No.14 : Welcome To Sarajevo (1997)

Welcome to Sarajevo at the IMDb

Welcome to Sarajevo is a drama documentary shot shortly after the end of the Bosnian/Serb war of the early 1990’s. The film poster I’ve used has the funny tag line “To get the story they’ll risk everything” which no doubt led to some disappointment in people expecting an action thriller.

The film follows a troupe of journalists who are following the war which is becoming more brutal by the day. After visiting an orphanage a British journalist risks everything by smuggling out a young Bosnian girl who otherwise would have died. Once he has her back in England the fight goes on to keep her there and to convince her mother that this is the best course for the girl.

I found the film very hard hitting and in many places it made for uncomfortable viewing. Scenes of actual news footage were used with reaction shots of the cast cut in. A cynic may say this is a cheap way to make a movie but the reality is all the more brutal when you know those are real dead bodies and starving people.

The sense of danger in the city was evident throughout and the total inhumanity on show was shocking. One scene showing the aftermath of a mortar attack was particularly horrible with missing limbs and faces the order of the day. It would be easy for a film of this to get preachy but instead it lets the viewer draw their own unmistakable conclusions.

Although it was based on ITN reporter Michael Nicholson’s own experiences the lead character had a different name, presumably so that other aspects could be brought in. I did think the focus on the orphanage and adoption elements drew us away from the bigger picture but a film encompassing all that was going on would last for many months. The cast was pretty good and there were plenty of recognizable faces. Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei had pretty small and forgettable parts, but no doubt their participation will draw a bigger audience.

The ending offered a ray of hope, but the general feeling was one of horror and desperation. Not entertainment as you know it but compelling and required viewing.

Best Bit : The tension packed scene when the Serbs board the rescue bus.

‘W’ Rating 20/23