The Load

Saturday 13 October, Cinema 1, 12:30pm

 

Set during NATO’s airstrike against the Milosević regime in 1999, driver-for-hire Vlada suspects the disturbing nature of the mission he has been commissioned to carry out. Director Ognjen Glavonić’s film is reminiscent of The Wages of Fear as it undertakes a voyage into the soul of a country destroyed by war and politics. Mostly shot in long takes from inside the truck, the film is dominated by Leon Lucev’s powerful central performance. Dress, posture and visual expression express the realities of a world destroyed, with references not only to the past – the partisan struggles against the Nazis – but an uncertain, tremulous future. It’s a landmark film, addressing topics that many would rather suppress and a worthy successor to Glavonić’s disturbing documentary Depth Two.