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by Frank Wilkins
48 photojournalists lost their lives in the former Yugoslavia during the Serbo-Croatian war between 1991-1995. French Director/co-writer Elie Chouraqui dedicates his latest project, Harrison's Flowers, to these brave men and women who lost their lives so that the stories of this tragic war could be told to the world.

It's hard to imagine the bravery exhibited by those armed with only a camera and the desire to capture the horrors of war, but the film's depiction of photographers at the battle lines is extremely realistic and truly enlightening. What imperfections Harrison's Flowers experiences in its storytelling, it more than makes up for with its lifelike depictions of the brutalities and atrocities that most Americans chose to ignore.

When Pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist Harrison Lloyd (David Strathairn) turns up missing in Serbo-Croatia, his wife, Sarah Lloyd (Andie McDowell), acting on a woman's intuition, embarks on a mission to prove that he is still alive somewhere in this war-torn region.

The film begins as a mushy little love story but quickly escalates into a full-blown war movie, complete with gut-churning depictions of executions, mass-killings and other war crimes. After many years in the war zone, Harrison agrees to one last assignment, after which he will retire, tend to his hothouse flowers and spend time with his neglected wife and children. Harrison's relationship with his son, Cesar (Scott Anton), suffers the most from his absence but Chouraqui isn't quite sure how to show this, so Anton just walks around in a zombie-like state during his screen time.

Once Sarah arrives in the former Yugoslavia, the action quickly picks up as she steps into the hell known as a modern day war zone. There are no rules, there are no borders and photographers and press aren't necessarily considered neutral entities. A local Croatian who befriends her by offering a ride, is eventually executed in front of her, sending her into an emotional state of shock. Bombs explode all around and Sarah is nearly raped before being discovered by two of Harrison's fellow photographers, Kyle (Adrien Brody) and Stevenson (Brendan Geeson) who agree to join her mission.

Accompanied by the two men, Sarah trudges forward towards the battle-ravaged city of Vukovar, where Harrison was last seen. Sarah is looking for her husband whom she refuses to believe is dead, Kyle is fulfilling a personal mission and Stevenson just appears to be along for the ride. Brody is brilliant as the angry young photographer who harbors resentment towards Sarah's husband yet finds a way to cast aside his resentment for and aid a fellow colleague.

The love story aspect of Harrison's Flowers is done just right. I was convinced by McDowell's Oscar-worthy performance of a woman's undying love for her husband. Director Chouraqui masterfully juxtaposes a compelling story of love for one's family against the relentless carnage and atrocities of what would later become known as ethnic cleansing. The battle scenes will rattle your soul as production designer Giantito Burchiellaro creates a horrifyingly realistic environment.

Some storytelling problems and several unexplained relationships keep Harrison's Flowers from being a great film, but I reserve a special interest in movies that bring to light historical situations that might have otherwise gone unseen by the world. Black Hawk Down showed us the horror experienced by young soldiers trapped in Mogadishu; Rabbit Proof Fence exposed the racist assimilation policies of Australia; and Harrison's Flowers enlightens the world to the atrocities of ethnic cleansing.

Frank Wilkins

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