Here and There

Few Serbian movies reach our shores, and thank goodness this one did. Made in 2009, the film premiered at the Belgrade Film Festival to top reviews.

Like many European films, Here and There shows us life in another part of the world: we see what Belgrade looks and feels like...old, drab, war-torn, and bleak. Can flowers grow and love bloom in such an environment?

As usual no spoiler, but the plot is quite simple: A Serbian mover on a temporary visa in NYC does a job for a rootless down-on-his-luck, unemployed American...and a friendship of sorts evolves. The Serb has a very simple request: he asks the American to go to his native country, "marry" his girlfriend, and bring her back to the U.S. He will pay the American for the job.

From there on, the plot unfolds in a quiet, meaningful, gripping manner. As the American learns the ways of the Serbs, he finds a comfort and peace that always escaped him in hustling, bustling NYC. Will the plan work? Will the Serb come up with the money? How will the strange arrangement turn out? And what about the American's attachment to the woman who puts him up?

This little sleeper packs a calm but effective punch. Most of us don't plan on going to the former war-torn city of Belgrade, but we travel there vicariously in a well-crafted, memorable diamond-in-the-rough of a film.