The Trap

How far would you go to save your child? This is the emotional question at the heart of THE TRAP, a powerful Serbian drama set in modern Belgrade. Mladen and Marija are solid citizens, in love and dedicated to each other and their young son, Nemanja. When the boy suddenly develops seizures brought on by a heart condition, their world is ripped apart. The doctors tell them the only thing that can save him is an urgent operation in Germany, which will cost 26,000 Euros ($38,000) — and which their insurance does not cover. With their desperation for money mounting and Nemanja's condition worsening, Mladen makes a pact with the devil. A stranger contacts him, saying he will give him the money if he will murder a business rival, a man who doesn't deserve to live anyway. Director Srdan Golubović says THE TRAP is a “Balkan version of 'Crime and Punishment,'” set against the backdrop of a capital city whose transition process toward finding a new identity has gone off course. He calls it “a modern 'film noir' about post-Milosevic Serbia, where there is no more war, just a moral and existential desert.” This tightly wrought thriller deserves a wide audience. (In Serbian with English subtitles) – BB