"Peace is harder won than war."
That quote (in paraphrase) from this earnest yet excellent bio-drama, sums the complexities and mix-ups in the post-Bosnian War experience.
Into that maelstrom is thrust Kathryn Bolkovac, a beat cop from Nebraska of all places. But the drama does not so much surround military or ethnic conflicts, but those of a human nature. A local woman has bee sexually assaulted by a member of the UN Peacekeeping Force (Bolkovac is also a member) and the brass - naturally - wants to cover it up.
Writer-director Larysa Kondracki plays the story just about right and further gets two excellent performances. One from headliner Rachel Weisz as Bolkovac. Weisz has, on occasion come across as a bit detached, but there's none of that here - she throws herself into the emotional whirlpool that the role entails but without sinking into bathos. Then there's Monica Bellucci, as another local, and also Vanessa Redgrave.
Altogether a fluid yet riveting view of recent history.
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