Compared to other works by the director, not quite the disaster of 'Promise Me This', but far from the greatness of 'Black Cat, White Cat'. The one big failure is the central relationship of the Serbian engineer and his Bosnian hostage. Neither were particularly well developed characters, their relationship felt forced and unconvincing, and the actors had very little chemistry together. This became a big problem in the second half when they became the main focus of the story. That said, there was plenty to enjoy in the first half, with Kusturica's typically crowded shots, full of detail to discover on future viewings. There were some fun comic performances in the ensemble cast, though (once again) none were as well-drawn and memorable as the gypsies in 'Black Cat, White Cat'. On the whole I'd have to call this a disappointment.