2006, Germany/Switzerland/Bosnia-Herzegovina
Drama
In a region of Eastern Europe where borders and countries change so often that each generation gains a unique identity, one thing remains the same: there is no place like home.
A canteen in Zurich brings together three women with seemingly different views on the subject, and yet they are all tied to their own sense of place. Owner Ruza left her homeland in Belgrade 25 years ago and has never looked back. Transient Ana left Sarajevo after the war and seeks temporary connections. Loyal worker Mila grudgingly allows her husband to build a house far away, though she has no desire to leave her kin.
Though each woman's story begins independently, they soon affect one other in small ways and ultimately help each discover their sources of happiness.
Ana sparks the most noticeable change in the work place, with her zest for life and complete selflessness. Yet every cheerful conversation she begins with strangers quickly turns to her Sarajevo origin and whether she witnessed the war.
Her only familial contact consists of a container of her late brother's baby teeth, which she caresses while reflecting on his suicide following the conflict. She is quite ill but continues to experience a different, detached relationship each night. As she allows herself to be absorbed into a club's dance music, she slips into the moment and the arms of someone new.
Her boss, Ruza, runs a tight ship with sternness and frigidity. Focusing on the task at hand is most important to maintain the independent lifestyle she has established in an unwelcoming land. As Ana forces Ruza to experience the moving world around her, she dusts off memories of her home country long since shelved in the pursuit of reliable income.
Meanwhile, Mila remains suspicious of Ana, believing that Ruza would never change for such flights of fancy. She cannot share their connection to a distant home and cannot understand the desire to travel outside of set boundaries.
Writer-director Andrea Staka follows her regionally-tied shorts ("Hotel Belgrad," "Yugodivas") with this skillful debut feature. Cinematographer Igor Martinovic allows the lens to capture the personality of each character. As Ruza instructs her employees, the camera remains direct and focused. As Ana hits the clubs, the camera is physically jarred into consciousness and bounces with her movement.
As each woman discovers her own formula for bliss, Ana poses, "Do you know the feeling when you think you're thirsty, and then you realize what you're feeling is longing?" Though each character may have initially misplaced her sense of home and comfort, as they observe the others in their pursuits they begin to realize where they went astray from what is most important.