As mentioned in other reviews, this is an excellent anti-war film told from the Serbian perspective - very much like 'Stalingrad' another anti-war film told from the German perspective. In a black and white world, this film shows that there were and are shades of grey; that previous to the wars in Yugoslavia, there was relative ethnic peace and harmony and that people exploited ethnic divisions for their own ends. The Serbs trapped in the aforementioned tunnel are the different archetypes of the forces in Bosnia at that type - the pro-unitary Yugoslavia Commander; the Chetnik nationalist, the Academic, the wheeler dealer, and the junkie, brought together by this terrible war. And of course the naive American reporter.
This film is by no means Serbian propaganda - if anything, it's pro-Yugoslav propaganda - atrocities were committed on all sides against all sides - even Muslim against Muslim.
It reminds me once of an anecdote I heard from a Bosnian Muslim reporter who took some American reporters to the site of a massacre of Muslims by the Serbs, and then offered to take them to a similar site of where Serbs had been slaughtered by Muslim forces. The reporters weren't interested in the latter, as it made things 'too complicated' apparently. The US press are only interested in simple, easy to understand good guys vs bad guys.
SPOILER ALERT****SPOILER ALERT
The fact that Halil, the former best friend of the main character Milan, kills himself at the end, torn as he was between friendship and kindship really illustrates the futility of this type of war, that never should have been allowed to happen by all protagonists.
This film is by no means Serbian propaganda - if anything, it's pro-Yugoslav propaganda - atrocities were committed on all sides against all sides - even Muslim against Muslim.
It reminds me once of an anecdote I heard from a Bosnian Muslim reporter who took some American reporters to the site of a massacre of Muslims by the Serbs, and then offered to take them to a similar site of where Serbs had been slaughtered by Muslim forces. The reporters weren't interested in the latter, as it made things 'too complicated' apparently. The US press are only interested in simple, easy to understand good guys vs bad guys.
SPOILER ALERT****SPOILER ALERT
The fact that Halil, the former best friend of the main character Milan, kills himself at the end, torn as he was between friendship and kindship really illustrates the futility of this type of war, that never should have been allowed to happen by all protagonists.