As a work of art, "Quo vadis, Aida?" is a success. The cinematography is great, the acting is good to excellent, and the dialogue is adequate (more or less). However, when it comes to historical accuracy, things get complicated. Here are two examples that may seem trivial compared to the massive real-life suffering that served as the basis for the film, but still deserve mention because they misrepresent real individuals and events.
1.) Much of the material involving General Ratko Mladic and the Bosnian Serb army is based on real-life video recordings (available on YouTube) made by Mladic's own cameraman. "Quo vadis, Aida?" recreates most of these scenes faithfully, with one glaring exception. In the scene where three civilians from the UN camp are sent to negotiate with Mladic, one of them, a 40-year-old woman named Chamila, is groped by a Bosnian Serb soldier as he hikes up her skirt while searching for weapons. In contrast, the real-life video clearly shows that the real Chamila was not frisked or touched at all by any of the soldiers.
2.) As stated in the end credits, the film was "inspired by" a book written by Hasan Nuhanovic, a real-life translator at the UN base in Srebrenica. In fact, Mr. Nuhanovic was involved in the early stages of production, but withdrew due to disagreements over the fictionalized elements of the screenplay. One piece of dialogue to which Mr. Nuhanovic objects made its way into the final version of the film: After returning from the negotiations, Aida's husband, a fictional character based on Mr. Nuhanovic's late father (who took part in the real-life negotiations), has an argument with Chamila, and then says "I can't stand stupid women!" According to Mr. Nuhanovic, there is no evidence that such a dialogue took place in real life.
In the film's defense, the opening credits clearly state that it is "based on true events." Ultimately, "Quo vadis, Aida?" is worth watching, as long as you keep in mind that it's not a documentary.
1.) Much of the material involving General Ratko Mladic and the Bosnian Serb army is based on real-life video recordings (available on YouTube) made by Mladic's own cameraman. "Quo vadis, Aida?" recreates most of these scenes faithfully, with one glaring exception. In the scene where three civilians from the UN camp are sent to negotiate with Mladic, one of them, a 40-year-old woman named Chamila, is groped by a Bosnian Serb soldier as he hikes up her skirt while searching for weapons. In contrast, the real-life video clearly shows that the real Chamila was not frisked or touched at all by any of the soldiers.
2.) As stated in the end credits, the film was "inspired by" a book written by Hasan Nuhanovic, a real-life translator at the UN base in Srebrenica. In fact, Mr. Nuhanovic was involved in the early stages of production, but withdrew due to disagreements over the fictionalized elements of the screenplay. One piece of dialogue to which Mr. Nuhanovic objects made its way into the final version of the film: After returning from the negotiations, Aida's husband, a fictional character based on Mr. Nuhanovic's late father (who took part in the real-life negotiations), has an argument with Chamila, and then says "I can't stand stupid women!" According to Mr. Nuhanovic, there is no evidence that such a dialogue took place in real life.
In the film's defense, the opening credits clearly state that it is "based on true events." Ultimately, "Quo vadis, Aida?" is worth watching, as long as you keep in mind that it's not a documentary.