Quo Vadis, Aida?              4 ½ stars

Quo Vadis, Aida? from 2021 is a movie that should be seen when the viewer is in the frame of mind to accept a truly tragic situation. The movie by Jasmila Zbanic is based on the true story of what happened at the village of Srebenica, Bosnia during the war there in 1995. This is where one of the greatest war crimes in Europe was committed with the murder of thousands of innocent Bosnian men by the Serbian army. The film is told mainly from the point of view of Aida, a middle-aged Bosnian woman employed by the United Nations as an interpreter. This provides her with insight and access to what is going on at the UN base camp where thousands of Bosnian refugees are seeking protection after being driven out of their homes. As this tragedy unfolds she is also trying to see that her husband and two sons do not fall into the hands of the soldiers. The film shows us the senselessness of war in general and the complete ineffectiveness of the UN to prevent an atrocity due to failure of policy and of bureaucracy. We see how the nightmare unfolds step by step as Aida tries to work with the UN officials to find a way to protect her family and is met by resistance from the authority figures. The UN officers are not solely to blame as they are restricted by the orders from their superiors and so are prevented from following through on their promises to protect the local population. The film plainly tells how this atrocity happens and its effect from a personal point of view. The viewer should go into the film knowing there will be nothing pleasant about the ultimate outcome, though there are few scenes of direct violence shown on screen.