The Year After Dayton / Das Jahr nach Dayton (1997) dir. Nikolaus Geyrhalter 1/2

A portrait of the first year of peace in Bosnia. This is a human story played out before a background of a war which still makes itself felt, a story of a possible life together, which has become impossible in many cases. Rajko, the Serbian mechanic and his family must leave their home for the second time. Nermin, the actor, lost both legs in the war and might have the chance to learn a new role. Halid, a shepherd from the Muslim-controlled region, risks his life to visit friends on the western (Croatian) side of Mostar. In telling these stories in long, complementary shots, the film completely rejects spectacular closeups and limits itself almost exclusively to long and medium shots. At the same time, the people often look directly into the camera. This engenders a disquieting mixture of nearness and distance. It is precisely this distance of Geyrhalter’s camera that paradoxically makes the year after dayton such an intimate film, allowing the audience a glimpse of the people’s immediate surroundings. “The Year After Dayton“ is split in two parts of one hundred minutes, each depicting two seasons of the year.