Bosnia, 1993.
Englishman David Locke (Nathan Sapsford) is stationed in Bosnia. Two months after his arrival, he meets a charming young woman he thinks he could have a future with. That is until his run in with Ivan Novak (Vladimir Gvojic), a sadist who loves his country and wants the English out. He offers David a trade he’s forced to take – one that will haunt him for the next 25 years. David, now a bitter, broken man, is approached by Emir (Svetislav ‘Bule‘ Goncic) the man he saved years ago and is informed that Ivan may still be alive out there and needs to be brought in for war crimes.
After being tipped off about a stolen painting, David heads to Serbia to investigate. He eventually ends up at a self-help clinic run by Johan Petrovic (Slobodan Bestic) who may or may not be the man David is looking for. Driven by revenge, David will do whatever it takes to prove Johan is a fraud.
Everyone is haunted by the past. In this case, a man unable to risk his life for the woman he cares about sleep walks though 25 years of his life to get to this moment where he could right a wrong. Revenge rarely works out and in this case the motivation is rather thin to warrant any real satisfaction.
In his feature film debut as writer and director, Alastair Newton Brown weaves together The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and 007 threads to give a slow moving thriller that tries to be more interesting than the beautiful music and the atmospheric cinematography will let it be. Sapsford does his best Daniel Craig/Michael Fassbender impression as he broods around looking for answers in a revenge movie that doesn’t feel like it earns its motivations. Not to mention the terrible de-aging make up/CGI they put Sapsford though so he can play both his younger and older self.
Reviewed online (screener provided by publicist), August 20, 2022. Running time: 121 min.
PRODUCTION: An Equal & Opposite Pictures production. Producers: Alastair Newton Brown, Nathan Sapsford & Marc Windon. Executive producer: Milos Djukelic.
CREW: Director/writer: Alastair Newton Brown. Cinematography: Marc Windon. Editing: Alastair Newton Brown & Mark Warner. Music: Brian Cachia.
CAST: Nathan Sapsford, Marija Bergam, Zoran Pajic, Jelena Stupljanin, Slobodan Bestic, Svetislav ‘Bule’ Goncic, Igor Filipovic, Sasa Kuzmanovic, Ana Sofrenovic & Peter Milicevic.