An octogenarian Serbian lady who had fled the horrors of WWII and migrated to Mexico is still haunted by its memories. Her granddaughter who works as a cook at a restaurant has no emotional connect with Europe and considers herself a Mexican. But it’s 1991 and the Balkan war has just broken out in Europe, splintering Yugoslavia into warring, bloodthirsty nations – and things are not the same anymore between the two lonely women.
Director Diana Cardozo raises issues of displacement, memory, and belonging by trying to draw parallels between the two events, separated by 45 years, and does a decent job of it. You can catch up her MANUELA JANOVIC’S WAR (Mexico, 2014) on MUBI.
Ranjan Das is a Mumbai based filmmaker & faculty.