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Melon RouteDirected by Branko Schmidt, 2006 By Rada Djurica The Melon Route is a powerful feature film drama about illegal immigrants from China, a true story of illegal Chinese immigrants who drowned in the Sava River on the border between Bosnia and Croatia, during the civil war in the '90s. During one gloomy morning, a young Chinese woman survives a drowning. Freezing to death with no identification or money, she seeks refugee in an old rusty house, on the bank of the river. The house belongs to an ex-junky and ex-Croatian soldier, a loner with no further desires but to be left alone for the rest of his life. After some arguing, he agrees to help her hide. Unfortunately, she is noticed by human traffickers and war dogs across the river, and tragic events start to happen to the Chinese maid, but only for a short while. This tragic story, based on true events, is empowered by the strong characters of this film. The simple and powerful protagonists and antagonists are here equally important, as portrayed by brilliant actors, including the debut of a young Chinese actress, Sun Mei. Branko Schmidt, a powerful film director and Croatian film industry star, already mentioned in this magazine a couple years ago, proves again his extraordinary skills. |
