Will Not End Here

The film is set in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia and focuses on the present day but uses flashbacks to recount the lead character Martin's (Ivan Herceg) involvement in the Croatian War of Independence as a sniper. He was stationed in the Croatian town of Knin, which was occupied by the Serbs during the Croatian War of Independence. What is not clear at the start of the film is why Martin is so desperate to meet Desa (Nada Sargin), whose face he sees on the cover of a pornographic DVD, made after the war. The obvious deduction is that he simply has fallen for her having seen her in the DVD. By contacting the rather eccentric male star of the DVD, Djuro (Predrag Vusovic) he is able to track Desa (Nada Sargin) down to a brothel in Belgrade, where she now works. She has turned to alcoholism and is portrayed as someone no longer in control of her life. Martin has to gather together a large sum of money to pay the owner of the brothel to "free" Desa, so he can take her back with him to Zagreb. Desa is clearly confused by Martin's action and is surprised with her new found freedom and the idea that "Martin paid so much money for someone to clean his house". She resorts to alcohol to try and cope with her new situation, but Martin clearly puts no pressure on her in any way. He simply gives her time and space and gets on with his normal day to day life. [Spolier Alert!] With the flashbacks it becomes clear that Martin first saw Desa during the war, going about her daily domestic life and clearly in love with her husband. What also becomes clear is that Martin was ordered to kill her husband and her from his sniper's vantage point. You can clearly see the dilemma for him and while he shoots and kills her husband he is unable to shoot Desa. Thus, the plot for the film is revealed. A man who falls in love with a woman having watched her joyfully going about her daily life, through the sights of his sniper's rifle. Various sub plots of the film play out - Martin's war veteran colleagues discovering that he has stolen war grave maps from them and sold them to their relatives (to earn money to pay for Desa) - but the overriding part of the film is Desa's gradual healing process. She returns to being a domesticated, loving woman and reciprocates Martin's love for her. Just when you think the film is about to have a happy ending, another twist to the plot unravels. Martin offers to be a kidney donor for his sick mother and, by undergoing hospital tests, discovers that he has an inoperable brain tumor. He stoically tells Desa and tells her not to worry that they can get married and she will be looked after financially (when he dies). She leaves Martin, furious at the thought that she will now have to go through a second bereavement and thinks that Martin knew all along of his latent sickness. Another twist to the plot occurs in that Martin appears to retain his health and is gets invited to the wedding anniversary of Djuro and his wife. Little did he know that Desa has also been invited and they end up sitting opposite each other. At this point of the film, Desa looks completely healed from her past and is the beautiful, natural woman that Martin fell in love with during the war. Desa and Martin get up to dance and, while holding hands, find that they themselves are the center of attention. Djuro announces that they have now been married in an informal Hare Krishna wedding ceremony and walk off together into the night. The film is full of Balkan humor and imagery but the underlying story is one of true love and healing.