A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Even if it does not entertain you, Krugovi is certainly a movie that makes you think (about life in general, but also about Balkan history in particular). In troubled situations and extreme conditions, the ugliest and the most beautiful shades of the human soul reveal together. The tricky thing is that they seem to appear inter-connected, so a terrible bad might be the reason and the circumstance of some extraordinary good. The movie is inspiring, it is about hope in humanity, about people who act as human beings, even in that moments where the animal instinct reigns over the world. Souls talk, people not too much. There are rough characters, that create strong ties based on common memories. In spite of all, they seem to have an inner need to do the right thing. All the stories from this movie start from the same point, Marko a soldier in the Bosnian War is beaten to death because he was trying to defend a Muslim from harassment and possible death. Few years later, the characters of that scene arrive to deal again with each other.

Krugovi (Circles) explores the consequences of civil war in former Yugoslavia, which is still a very sensitive subject in the area. The discussion surrounding such a movie usually overshadows its message. Due to the complex nature of the conflict and numerous parties involved, movies about this particular civil war tend to paint a simplified picture and imply how one of the sides were "more guilty". This might not be interesting or even anticipated by an unacquainted viewer, yet it takes a toll on the artistic merit of the movie. Angelina Jolie's In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011) is probably the best example.The authors of Krugovi (Circles) overcame this challenge by a script in which the main protagonists are mostly Serbs. A group of Serbian soldiers kicks off the storyline and their actions would influence their lives and the lives of the people around them even twelve years later.Probably the best thing about this movie is its atmosphere. The grinding sadness almost pours from the screen. However, this is not a tragedy, rather a story about common people whose small deeds might make the world a better place although they won't right the wrongs of the past.Krugovi (Circles) is so far the best feature film by the Srdan Golubovic. According to IMDb.com he directed only three feature films, yet he displayed an amazing ability to improve his output throughout his career. This one set the bar pretty high and it is with great expectation that i await his next movie.

In Circles, Serbian director Srdan Golubovic dramatizes the need for warring factions to move beyond their animosities. The film is framed by the start and the end of a scene in Bosnia, 1993, based on an actual event. The golden Serbian off-duty soldier Marko sees three colleagues brutalize a Muslim civilian, the tobacconist Haris. When Marko intervenes, Haris runs off but the soldiers turn on Marko and kill him. Marko's young doctor friend watches helpless, while other citizens look away.The bulk of the film shows the characters still dealing with that death in Serbia, 2008, their wounds having outlived the war. Marko's fiancée Nada drifted off after her loss, married a brute and is now trying to escape his menacing pursuit of their young son. Haris helps her find a job and flat, then pays for her son's passport to enable her escape to Bosnia, where her husband faces arrest. The husband gives Haris a second severe beating but refrains from killing him, his eyes tearing up when he realizes he has lost his son. Marko's aging father Ranko is still alienated from the widow of one of Marko's assailants. He refuses to employ their grown son on his project, to relocate an old stone church from the power plant to a country hilltop. The church is an emblem of taking the moral high road. At the young man's persistence the old man softens, gives in, comes to accept him, and as he speeds him to a hospital after an accident cradles his head and tells the driver the boy is his son. Haris phones Ranko on the anniversary date of Marko's death. Now he calls him after this second beating. Though living in Germany now, Haris repays his debt to Marko by attending to his survivors. Marko's doctor friend is now the only surgeon who can perform the operation that will save the life of Todor — the leader of Marco's assault — after a serious traffic accident. The man recognizes him and futilely tries to get a different surgeon. The doctor is at first unwilling to save his friend's killer's life, especially when the brute denies remorse and calls him a "pussy" for his moral considerations. Post-operation this brute too tears up in gratitude for having been saved. One recurring motif is the long shot of a long winding road, like the one down which Ranko drags the crippled worker. It's an emblem of the long route to redemption, through forgiveness.The title has two implications. At one point Ranko muses that a stone dropped in water sends out spreading circles, but a good man's deeds don't. In this film Marko's death ends up having positive effects on the others, on Haris immediately and on the others up to 12 years later. They manage to break the circle of violence and hatred begetting violence and hatred. For more see www.yacowar.blogspot.com.

first - it is not just a movie. but an experience. a special one. because , more than images, music, acting, it is a web of questions about small , usual everyday things. it is expression of a splendid precision to give to a not extraordinary story, at first case, soul, force and blood. it remains many other great European films. but it is not a shadow. or an answer. only a question. few amazing scenes . a great director. salt taste. ash circles. and the measure as axis of a group portrait. it is not a bad idea to see it. why ? for discover a world questions. for few memorable scenes. for Aleksander Bercek silence, for Nikola Rakocevic character nuances, for Hristina Popovic in skin of storm, for the art, splendid art of Srdan Glubovic.