This is the rare documentary where form is given the same importance as the subject. In an unusual choice, talking heads are avoided on behalf of "non-talking bodies" instead. Rather than film the interviewees as they speak, they are filmed standing still in their relevant locations, while the audio of their interviews plays in voice-over. Additionally, the interviewer's questions are not heard at all.
The subjects are also mostly name- and title-less, leaving it to the viewer to piece out who they are based on the context of their words. This results in a documentary that creates a very clear sense of place (how the touristic sites came to be, what is their appeal, their connection to the ever-changing senses of identity in the Balkans, etc.).
The sense of place is achieved at the expense of almost all other information, meaning that the work ends up feeling incomplete. Regardless, it is greatly successful as an almost-experimental way of documenting and, like many experimental works, might be best taken at a purely emotional level, letting yourself react to what is happening in the moment.
The subjects are also mostly name- and title-less, leaving it to the viewer to piece out who they are based on the context of their words. This results in a documentary that creates a very clear sense of place (how the touristic sites came to be, what is their appeal, their connection to the ever-changing senses of identity in the Balkans, etc.).
The sense of place is achieved at the expense of almost all other information, meaning that the work ends up feeling incomplete. Regardless, it is greatly successful as an almost-experimental way of documenting and, like many experimental works, might be best taken at a purely emotional level, letting yourself react to what is happening in the moment.
