Movie Review: The Tour (PIFF)

What if you went to preform for the soldiers of your country and you had never sen war before? Would you know what to do and would you even believe it when you saw it? If not, then welcome to the movie The Tour

Once again I had no real idea what I would be watching. The brief synopsis about the film stated that it was set during the 1990's Civil War in Serbia and that the film was a joint Serbian/Bosnia And Herzegovinan film. This alone was the deciding factor of me wanting to see this film and I am glad that I did. I saw a very different film that the one that I was expecting.

What surprised me the most about the film was the great acting of the actress Mira Furlan for those who only remember her for her work on Babylon 5 or Lost need to see this film and remember that she was once described as Yugoslavia's answer to Meryl Streep. Every scene that she was in made it better and you see her try to save a life in the film the insanity of the war is clearly shown upon her face.

The Director of this film Goran Markovic once again does a great job with what he is given to make this film. He tried to show all 3 sides on the Serbian War with style and grace. He showed that all of the sides in the war were human and just wanted the insanity to stop.

The film starts with actors complaining about their play in Belgrade and that their director is an idiot. They are much more concerned with the card game that is going on that anything else. Then they are given a chance to make some real money and to be paid in German Marks, if they agree to go to the war front and preform for the troops.

So the actors decide to go and see the front for themselves but what they see shakes them to their believes and then they all start to ask the question why?

What I liked about this part of the film was that their was a doctor that was from the same city as the actors, Belgrade, and that once the actors trusted him, the war took him away and they could not believe it. Also, watch for the commander's reaction to the actors when he finds out that they are from Belgrade and this commander blames the entire war on anyone from the capital of Yugoslavia, Belgrade.

We next see the actors trying to leave the war by foot but are soon captured by the Croatian forces and then forced to walk through a minefield. The Serbian Army then captures the Croats and the Army leaders ask the Croats why did they make his favorite childhood actors walk and try and clear a minefield. He then grabs one of the Croats and makes him walk and try and clear the field. This is where Mira Furlan really shines as an actress when her character tries to save a life and can only helplessly watch as another man dies in this war.

The actors are finally on the road back to home when they soon are captured by the Bosnian Muslim Army. Their commander immediately recognizes the 3 famous actors and even tells one of them that you were my hero growing up as a child and that if he had even asked for his sister, he would have gladly given her to him, without any questions asked. In the end, he lets the return home to Belgrade.

After the trip is over, the actors have changed and they are not sure what else to do.

The audience reactions were well received at the PIFF for the screening of this film. Many told me that they could not believe that this was a good film and that one of the actress looked very familiar.

Please see Turneja or "The Tour" when you get the chance.

Grade. A