Impressive Acting Marks Besa as Stand-Out Opener to Serbian Week in Great Britain

This week delivered an enjoyable event as part of the third annual Serbian Week in Great Britain.  I was invited to London’s Serbian Embassy for a private screening of Besa (Eng: Solemn Promise), the country’s 2011 foreign language Oscar submission.  Afterwards, it also provided an informal opportunity to discuss impressions of the film with the Serbian Ambassador to the UK.

Besa is a captivating story based on actual events set during the early days of the First World War.  Artfully paced storytelling and tender performances unveil the bonds that develop between an unlikely pair, ignited by fears and prejudice in a small Serbian town.  

Written and directed by Srdjan Karanovic, Besa is carried by two perfectly nuanced performances from accomplished Serb actor Miki Manojlovic (Tito & Me, Underground, Black Cat White Cat, When Father Was Away on Business, The Wounds) and Slovenian actress Iva Krajnc.  With often limited dialogue and a claustrophobic setting, Karanovic draws well observed performances from his leads that avoid cultural cliché by allowing them space to inhabit their characters.

Set in the early 20th Century, Besa is a representation of the ethnic and class divide that was prevalent in Europe at the start of WWI, dramatised in the unusual relationship that is birthed between Albanian school caretaker Azem (Manojlovic) and a Slovenian headmaster’s wife Lea (Krajnc)when circumstances of war invade on their rural lives in a small Serbian town.

The story opens as war calls headmaster Filip (Nebojsa Dugalic) to Belgrade.  Anxious about the safety of his young wife – whose Slovenian birth leads to suspicion of her as an Austrian sympathiser – a protector is found in Albanian caretaker Azem, who gives his ‘besa’, a solemn vow to protect Lea at almost any cost.

Initially, Azem takes his promise so seriously that the pair find themselves virtually imprisoned in the empty schoolhouse, to raised eyebrows from his family and curious villagers.  This forced proximity as the ravages of war rapidly approach their own doorstep, encourages an unexpected bond between the Christian woman and Muslim man and they are carried along on a developing wave of magnetic attraction.

It is with full credit to some incredibly human performances that this unusual episode from an emotive period in Serbia’s history is conveyed with restrained subtlety and convincing emotion.  Besa is a film to be enjoyed by those interested in the history of the region, as well as cinephiles with an appreciation of finely crafted films, masterful direction and nuanced performances.  

  • Besa did not make the final shortlist of nominees at the 2011 Academy Awards.  It is currently doing the rounds of international film festivals, and is available on DVD (with English subtitles).  
  • Serbian Week in Great Britain is jointly organised by the Serbian Council of Great Britain, the Serbian Society and Serbian City Club, in association with other diaspora groups.
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