After the fall of the Iron Curtain around Europe in the late 80's / early 90's, the emergence of new democracies, governments, and republics were taking baby steps as the new nations began anew. In 1997, British filmmaker
Michael Winterbottom captured the chaotic struggle of Bosnia and Herzegovina as they struggled with a civil war in his film,
Welcome to Sarajevo. The film takes place in 1992 as a British journalist, played by
Stephen Dillane links up with an American journalist, played by
Woody Harrelson, as they search to find new angles to a large story. The two play off each other the way Harrelson recently did with his
True Detective co-star, Oscar winner
Matthew McConaughey. They argue, they compare strategies, but then they come together when they meet aid worker
Marisa Tomei, who shows them the story of a lifetime as orphaned children from the city of Sarajevo are trying to peacefully escape with the help of the UN to Italy. As chaos ensues to pursue a humanitarian act, the three are bound together to make the mission of helping these children the forefront of a war torn nation. While we still see conflict in parts of the world similar to this today, this story is a reminder that our future lies in the lives of those who are innocent to the guilty leaders that govern them.
