''Remake'' is a 2003 Bosnian

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by Dino Mustafić, produced by Enes Cviko and Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre. The film is a Turkish-French co-production. The film stars

Ermin Bravo Ermin Bravo (born 5 December 1979) is a Bosnian actor. He has appeared in more than ten films since 2001. He is most known for starring in the 2003 Bosnian film '' Remake''. Bravo is also remembered as a unique character in the 2017 film ''Men Do ...

Aleksandar Seksan Aleksandar Seksan (born 24 August 1968) is a Bosnian actor. He has appeared in more than thirty films since 1997. Most notably, he starred in the 2003 multiple award-winning Bosnian film '' Remake'' and 2016 Bosnian film ''Death in Sarajevo '' ...

, Ermin Sijamija,

Dejan Aćimović Dejan Aćimović (born 20 May 1963) is a Bosnian-Croatian actor and film director. He was born in Čapljina, SFR Yugoslavia, now Bosnia and Herzegovina. As an actor, his work included principal and supporting roles in numerous films, both wi ...

Lucija Šerbedžija Lucija Šerbedžija (born 8 June 1973) is a Croatian theatre and film actress and model, a daughter of actor, Rade, and a sister of film director, Danilo Šerbedžija. She is probably best known in the English-speaking world for her role in '' T ...

Emir Hadžihafizbegović Emir Hadžihafizbegović (; born 20 August 1961) is a Bosnian actor. Often regarded as one of the best actors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, he has appeared in over fifty films, including ''When Father Was Away on Business'' (1985), ''Remake'' (2003 ...

Miraj Grbić Miraj Grbić (born 17 July 1976) is a Bosnian–American film, television and theater actor. Biography Grbić graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo at the University of Sarajevo, where he earned an M.A. degree in acting. Sin ...

François Berléand François Berléand (; born 22 April 1952) is a French actor. He plays Gilles Triquet, the officer manager and equivalent of David Brent in ''Le Bureau'', the French version of ''The Office'', produced by Canal+. He also appeared in the 2002 fil ...

Évelyne Bouix Évelyne Bouix (; born 22 April 1953) is a French film actress and stage actress. She has appeared in 61 films from 1970. She was made ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the Ordre national du Mérite in 1999. Selected filmography * ''Rene the Cane'' ( ...

, and was written by

Zlatko Topčić Zlatko Topčić (born 30 April 1955) is a Bosnian screenwriter, playwright and novelist. He has written a number of films, including: ''Remake'', '' The Abandoned'', ''Miracle in Bosnia''; theater plays: ''Time Out'', '' I Don't Like Mondays'', ' ...

(based on incidents which occurred in his life). ''Remake'' tells the parallel

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

stories of a father living in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and his son living through the

Siege of Sarajevo The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, the city was then be ...

during the Bosnian War. The film premiered at the 32nd International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 23, 2003. The film's US premiere was at the 2004 Wine Country Film Festival (

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

), where it won three awards: Best First Feature, Best Actor (Ermin Bravo) and Award for Peace and Cultural Understanding. It won a Special Mention Award at the

53rd Berlin International Film Festival The 53rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 6–16, 2003. The festival opened with musical film ''Chicago'' by Rob Marshall and closed with Martin Scorsese's ''Gangs of New York'', both films played out of competiti ...

Plot and theme

In the early 1990s, Tarik is a young Sarajevan just starting out as a writer. Before the onset of war in the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, he sends a screenplay to a literary competition in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. In a parallel plot, we see the dramatization of his script: a true story of his father Ahmed Karaga, who is unprepared for the outbreak of World War II and ends up in a concentration camp, but manages to survive. In the present plot, Ahmed's drama is almost identically replayed in the fate of Tarik. Only the era and the conditions of suffering have changed. In Sarajevo, Tarik is captured by the

Serbian Army The Serbian Army ( sr-cyr, Копнена војска Србије, Kopnena vojska Srbije, lit=Serbian Land Army) is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. History Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Pr ...

and is subjected to the cruel conditions of a labour camp, which differs little from a concentration camp. After an unsuccessful attempt to escape, a famous French film producer helps exchange Tarik for another prisoner and ensures transportation to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. There, where few know of the great tragedy that has struck Bosnia, he meets one of his tormentors. The film explores the theme of revenge versus forgiveness, as well as the idea that history repeats itself and that those who do not learn from it are doomed to repeat it. ''Remake'' is also a coming-of-age drama, with scenes in which Ahmed and Tarik go out with their friends, have fun, fall in love.

Cast and characters

as Tarik Karaga *

as Miro Jovanović, Tarik's best friend *Miralem Zupčević as Ahmed Karaga, Tarik's father * Ermin Sijamija portrays the younger version of Ahmed *

as Duke Mišo, one of the commanders of the local Serbian forces and Tarik's neighbor *

as Eva Bebek, Ahmed girlfriend from his youth *Slaven Knezović as Marko Kalaba, Ahmed's friend * Helena Minić as Alma Dizdarević, Tarik's girlfriend *

Jasna Diklić Jasna Diklić (born March 8, 1946) is a Bosnian theatre and film actress. She was born in Sarajevo. Her mother was also an actress and a puppeteer. Diklić's first theatre experiences began at MESS Festival's experimental theatre studio, after wh ...

as Desa Jovanović, Miro's mother *

Zijah Sokolović Zijah Sokolović (born 22 December 1950) is a Bosnian actor, writer and director. He is the director of ''Theaterland'' in Salzburg, professor at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz, artistic director of ''Dežela gledališča'' theat ...

as Mirsad Alihodžić "Hodža", a Bosnian refugee in France, war profiteer *

as Francois-Charles Leconte, producer *

as Katrin Leconte, producer's wife *Haris Begović as Adis Dizdarević, Alma's younger brother *

Izudin Bajrović Izudin Bajrović (born 9 February 1963) is a Bosnian theater, film and television actor. He has appeared in more than forty films since 1986. Recent activity In 2017, Bajrović signed the Declaration on the Common Language of the Croats, Serbs, ...

as Jovo, Serbian soldier *

as Željko, Serbian guard *Admir Glamočak as an interrogator, investigator, Ustasha *Mario Drmać as Remzo, a singer from the camp *

as Mitar, Serbian guard * Mirsad Tuka as Vaso, Serbian soldier *Mirza Tanović as French UN officer *Rade Čolović as Zoka, Serbian guard *Jasmin Mekić as Miki, Serbian soldier *Mirvad Kurić as Salko, captive * Tahir Nikšić as Vlado, captive *Nakib Abdagić as Zijo Bajrić, captive *Edhem Husić as Meho Mizić, captive *Božo Bunjevac as Avdo Ligata, captive *Vlado Kerošević as major *Alen Muratović as Džemo, illegal *Tatjana Šojić as announcer *Vlado Jokanović as clergyman *Bojan Trišić as gutterman *Aldin Zulić as Don Dragiša de la Kuvelja *Boris Balta as Ustasha

Production

''Remake'' is the first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

directed by Dino Mustafić and the first written by

. Mustafić said in an interview: "We need a cathartic films that talk about our recent past. They are just as important as a testimony to the evil and stupidity of war does not happen again." Topčić said: "The script is devoid of ideological and daily political tinge. This movie wants to be a movie of love, not hate." The film's script was published in 2002.

Filming

Filming took place in

and other locations.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began in 2001.

Release

The film was released worldwide on January 23, 2003, by Forum and Terra Entertainment Inc. ( US). It was released to cinemas throughout

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

on February 22, 2003.

Music

Musician Adi Lukovac and singer Emina Zečaj collaborated on the soundtrack for the film ('' Remake - soundtrack'').

Accolades

Reception

Box office

''Remake'' was a box office hit. It is the most watched film in its native country ever.

Critical response

Ronald Holloway of ''Kino-German Film & International Reports'' wrote that "''Remake'' should not be missed". Also, he called it "a major film event of 2003". Deborah Young, in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', remarked that the film "is long on narrative but short on original insight into Balkan history". Stephen Dalton, from ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'', selected ''Remake'' in list "Best 100 Movies Ever Made" (87th place). The film's world premiere was at the 32nd International Film Festival Rotterdam, where a critic said that ''Remake'' is a "very brave film, describing the situation as it was" and emphasized that "the restrained acting, the flowing transitions between the flashbacks and the clever cutting make ''Remake'' into a penetrating film experience". It was the most watched film of the festival and received a 20 minute standing ovation. Some critics specifically praised the cult scene in which actor Mario Drmać sings a traditional folk song '' Il' je vedro, il' oblačno''. On ''Filmski.net'', the film has a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars. ''MukMag'' rated ''Remake'' as one of the best films of ex- YU cinema.

International festival circuit

The film was screened at over 100 international film festivals around the world, including the

Festival du Film de Paris The Festival du Film de Paris, also known as Paris Film Festival, was a film festival held annually in Paris, France. It was launched in 1986 as a youth-oriented festival. In 2002, the municipal government withdrew funding and began Festival Paris ...

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

Locarno Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, sh ...

Warsaw International Film Festival Warsaw Film Festival ( pl, Warszawski Festiwal Filmowy, abbreviated as WFF) is an annual film festival held every October in Warsaw, Poland which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries from all around the world. The festival ha ...

, International Film Festival Rotterdam,

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. Sections The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections: Cinema d'O ...

, BFI London Film Festival,

Gothenburg Film Festival Göteborg Film Festival (GFF), formerly Göteborg International Film Festival (GIFF), known in English as the Gothenburg Film Festival, formerly Gothenburg International Film Festival, is an annual film festival in Gothenburg, Sweden and the larg ...

FEST Fest may refer to: * Fest, Danish/German/Norwegian/Swedish/Breton for party * Fest, a type of festival * The Fest, music festival in Gainesville, Florida * Joachim Fest (1926–2006), German historian and journalist * '' Fest Magazine'', is an E ...

, Salerno International Film Festival,

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...

, Valencia International Film Festival Cinema Jove,

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

Sofia International Film Festival Sofia International Film Festival (SIFF) ( Bulgarian: ''Международен София Филм Фест, София Филм Фест''), also known as Sofia Film Fest, is an annual film festival in Sofia, capital city of Bulgaria, taking pl ...

Transilvania International Film Festival The Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF; ro, Festivalul internațional de film Transilvania) is the first international feature film festival in Romania, which is held annually in the historic capital of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca. Found ...

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival ( pt, Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A non-profit event, the festival is organized ...

, Houston Cinema Arts Festival (

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Monaco International Film Festival The Monaco International Film Festival is an annual international special interest film festival held in Monaco. It is a non-profit organization, formed in December 2003 and founded by Rosana Golden and Dean Bentley The festival focuses on non-viol ...

International Istanbul Film Festival The Istanbul Film Festival ( tr, İstanbul Film Festivali) is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Tu ...

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Interna ...

Filmfest München The Munich International Film Festival (german: Filmfest München) is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second only in size and importance to the Berlinale. It has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late-June/earl ...

, Prague International Film Festival - Febiofest, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Wine Country Film Festival,

Cleveland International Film Festival The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest film festival in Ohio. It was first held in 1977, showing eight films over a period of eight weeks at the Cedar Lee Theatre. ...

(

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Sarajevo Film Festival The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings internati ...

, and many other. It was screened at festivals in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Sweden,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Australia, Japan,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

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Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and the

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. It was also premiered on TV in the

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

References

External links

*
FILMSKI.NET about Remake
{{DEFAULTSORT:Remake (film) 2003 films Bosnia and Herzegovina war drama films French war drama films Films directed by Dino Mustafić Bosnian War films Yugoslav Wars films World War II films 2000s war drama films Films about anti-fascism 2000s French-language films Bosnian-language films Films set in Bosnia and Herzegovina Films set in Sarajevo Films set in France Films set in Paris Films with screenplays by Zlatko Topčić 2000s political drama films 2003 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s French films