The Melon Route

Chaos breeds chaos, as depicted in THE MELON ROUTE. This most recent film of prolific Croatian filmmaker Branko Schmidt was inspired by the true story of 12 illegal immigrants who drowned in the Sava River on the Bosnian-Croatian border in the late 1990s. In the midst of the Balkan conflicts, human trafficking through the war-ridden territory increased tenfold. Croatian soldier Mirko, a recovering drug addict suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, barely earns his living smuggling people-which he mockingly terms “melons”-across the border, while his police chief uncle pretends he doesn't notice. During the historic drowning, only a charismatic young Chinese girl survives. With nowhere to go, she moves into Mirko's secluded house in the woods. While this Croatian man and Chinese woman, with little in common besides their misery, become friends, Schmidt explores the troubling affliction of nationality. The cast offers passionate performances to Schmidt's craftsmanship in this moving film. (In Croatian, Bosnian, and Chinese with English subtitles) – E.J.B.