Esma's Secret - Grbavica
- Original title
- Grbavica (Sarajevo, mon amour)
- Year
- 2006
- Running time
- 90 min.
- Country
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Director
- Screenwriter
- Cast
-
- Mirjana Karanovic
- Luna Mijovic
- Leon Lucev
- Kenan Catic
- Jasna Beri
- Dejan Acimovic
- Bogdan Diklic
- Emir Hadzihafizbegovic
- See all credits
- Music
- Cinematography
- Producer
- Co-production Bosnia and Herzegovina-Croatia-Austria-Germany;
- Genre
- Drama | Bosnian War
- Synopsis
- 2006: Berlin Film Festival: Golden Bear. Single mother Esma lives with her 12-year-old daughter, Sara, in post-war Sarajevo. Sara wants to go on a school trip and Esma starts working as a waitress in a nightclub in order to earn the money.
Sara makes friends with Samir, who, like Sara, has no father. Both of their fathers allegedly died as war heroes. Samir is surprised that Sara doesn’t know the circumstances of her father’s death. Samir’s own father was massacred by Chetniks near Zuc when he refused to leave the trench he was defending. And yet, whenever mother and daughter discuss this delicate topic, Esma’s responses are always vague.
The situation becomes more complicated when the school offers to take pupils on the trip free of charge, provided they can furnish a certificate proving that they are the offspring of a war hero. Esma explains to Sara that her father’s corpse was never found and that she does not possess such a certificate. She promises to try to obtain the document. In reality she attempts to borrow the money Sara needs – from her friend, Sabine, from her aunt and from her boss.
Sara can’t get rid of the nagging feeling that something’s not right. Shocked and bewildered when she discovers she is not mentioned as the child a war hero on the list of pupils on the school trip, she lashes out at a classmate, explaining that her father was massacred on the front near Zuc when he refused to desert his trench. At home, however, she confronts her mother, demanding to know the truth. Esma breaks down and brutally reveals the painful facts: Esma was raped in a prisoner-of-war camp and forced to have the child that resulted from this violation. All at once, Sara realises that she is the child of a Chetnik. And yet, the knowledge also brings them a step closer to overcoming the trauma…- Awards
-
2006: Berlin Film Festival: Golden Bear2006: European Film Awards (EFA): 2 nominations2006: Sundance Film Festival: nominated to World Cinema Jury Prize (Dramatic).
- Movie Soulmates' ratings
-
Register so you can access movie recommendations tailored to your movie taste.
- Friends' ratings
-
Register so you can check out ratings by your friends, family members, and like-minded members of the FA community.
Is the synopsis/plot summary missing? Do you want to report a spoiler, error or omission? Please send us a message.
If you are not a registered user please send us an email to [email protected]All copyrighted material (movie posters, DVD covers, stills, trailers) and trademarks belong to their respective producers and/or distributors.
For US ratings information please visit: www.mpaa.org www.filmratings.com www.parentalguide.org