A film of Sergej Kreso

An African-Belgian musician goes to the former Yugoslavia during the 1970s, falls in love with a beautiful Dalmatian girl and settles there, playing the guitar and singing in a very well known band. They tour around the country that was once called Yugoslavia. During the latest war he, then already a Croatian citizen, fights as one of the local soldiers, defending his own home. At the same time, a young Bosnian musician, playing in another band, touring in the same country, marries another beautiful Dalmatian girl, but decides during the war to leave his homeland and settles for good with his family in The Netherlands.

ex Ponto Magazine nr.7

Why did the war make Jack a soldier and me a refugee? Director Sergej Kreso asked this question in his subtle but powerful intimate road movie Jack, The Balkans & I. The film starts as a portrait of the interesting, vibrant and lucid Jack but on the way it becomes a contemplative duel of two equally intriguing characters: one at the forefront (musician Jack), and the other appearing only in the background (the film maker himself). The latter is there to react, to stir our consciousness, or to pose questions which may have no answers yet. One could conclude that in this profound personal documentary the process of asking was more important than finding questions. The director points out:

I wanted to pose Jack and myself the moral dilemma: did we do the right thing in the war? I - leaving my country, Jack - staying and fighting in the war. I wanted to bring the issues of guilt and responsibility to a personal level. In my opinion, the issues of responsibility about everything that happened in Yugoslavia got stuck in the nation’s mind. Probably it is much easier that way, and it doesn’t hurt as much. It's more comfortable to hide yourself behind the nation and say: I'm not guilty, I couldn't do anything.

Structured as a journey in which Jack meets friends and places which were important in his past, the film goes on and features Serbian musicians with whom he used to play before the war. The story touches, in an understated manner, some hot issues and gives words to unspoken, painful memories: war battles, the new borders, the new divisions, friendships, betrayals and disappointments. The film does not emphasize any issue in particular, no matter how important or cinematic they could potentially be for the film. Kreso manages to create the larger life frame of the ordinary man in Croatia and Bosnia today.

Jack and I are antitheses in this film: two men with a different experience of the war, and with a different look on the war. For him the war is over and he wants to move on, while for me the war has made time stand still. I had to go back to Bosnia and to the war. Although this wasn't my intention, this documentary turned out to be the most intensive psychotherapy that I could possibly have gone through. The last scene, where Jack confronts me with my problem, in a way changed the character of the entire film.

Treating the landscape almost as a character in the film, the director gives us overwhelming images: the calm sea surface, colossal mountains, wide valleys, big skies, wind and rain. This constant movement from one space to another carries not only the physical changes of the place, but also supports the emotional, inner journey of the main characters.

The film was meant to be Jack's life and war story. I didn't believe there is any place for me in his interesting and unbelievable story. Even in the last month of editing, the title of the film was simply "Jack". But Jack pulled me into the film. In our travels, my interviews with Jack gradually transformed into dialogues. Towards the end of our journey he was the one asking me questions.

Having a musician as a main hero and being musician himself, the director gives us a real treat by paying close attention to the film’s soundtrack. In harmony with the suspense and power of the images, (wonderful camerawork by Wiro Fellix) the sound, somewhat abstract, sometimes subdued or forceful, tightly supports the progression of the narrative and the rising of the inner tension throughout the film.
How many unresolved dilemmas do we have? What are the right steps to take in life? Are we hiding some secrets from ourselves? These are just some of the questions this sincere, melancholic film ponders about, touching matters which are universal in all cultures.

The film Jack, the Balkan & I premiered at the IDFA film festival in Amsterdam in November 2008.

JACK, THE BALKANS & I (Jack, de Balkan & ik), (2008), 67 min.
The Netherlands / Belgium 2008.    
Director: Sergej Kreso, Photography: Wiro Felix; Screenplay: Sergej Kreso; Editing: Srdjan Fink; Sound: Slobodan Bajic; Music: Jack Roskam; Narration: Sergej Kreso Production: Denis Vaslin for Volya Films BV; Co-production: Serendipity Films; Screening copy: Volya Films BV; Involved TV Channel; IKON; Co-producent: Lydia de Koning for IKON, Ellen De Waele for Serendipity Films