Armin / Armin

A father and son make the journey from their home village in Bosnia to Zagreb, where the accordion-playing 14-year-old Armin will audition for a film part. After checking into the big-city hotel, they feel somewhat forlorn – nothing is going quite as smoothly as expected. Torn between hope and anxiety, father Ibro fusses over his son, who bears his attentions with equanimity, for instance while posing for a portrait photo. Auditions finally begin, and Armin is immediately rejected – he is simply too old. Not caring if people think him rude or pushy, Ibro urges the film crew to let his son play once, at least. Armin’s hard-earned performance ends abruptly: he suffers a mysterious breakdown. But the boy unexpectedly receives a second chance... There is nothing sensational about the process of learning director Ognjen Sviličić shows. The father’s nervous activity suits the son’s stoic immobility, but the new surroundings force them both to behave somewhat out of character, thus reducing the distance between the two. The two lead actors, and particularly Emir Hadžihafisbegović as the father, convey the situation impressively. Offering little action but plenty of suspense, this unobtrusive film incidentally draws a portrait of contemporary Bosnia.