Taking a look at the recovery of Bosnia through the eyes of a motorcycle club becomes a fascinating adventure. The documentary Among Wolves follows the leader of the group as they travel through the war recovery area and talk about the loss and the gain they’ve had since the Bosnia Herzegovina civil war. It’s a cool way to pick up the history of the country from the villagers standpoint.
Some background I found on the war: In the years 1992 through 1995 the fighting took place between the nations of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The county, a big chunk of land, today borders Croatia on the North and East, Montenegro on the South, and Serbia on their western border. They have a small port on the Adriatic Sea across from Italy to the East. The war was part of a breakup of Yugoslavia that began in 1991. It was hard fought with the United Nations stepping in to cool it down toward the end. It was a bitter war with around 100,000 deaths attributed to it. Over 2.2 million people were displaced in the conflict. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_War
The motorcycle club adopted the name Wolves and is a struggling group who help the needy and provide entertainment with a parade in some of the towns they visit. Made up of ex-military, the club’s master project is overseeing the many horses that were left to roam the uninhabited lands following the war. Today there are over 300 wild horses that are protected by the government. With lack of food, the horses have moved closer to the towns and in some cases inadvertently block major thoroughfares. Club President Lija assigns a number of his 43 members to the herds finding water holes and keeping away predators looking to kill them for dog food.
Other projects include restoring resident’s houses that have been damaged from the war. On any given day you can see them painting and cementing outer walls of some of the buildings in their hometown of Livno. They also help the community by giving blood and providing other charity work. But when it comes down to it, they are a fun loving bunch of guys who believe in community.
“Yes we had war but it ended. There was war in Germany as well. It ended. There was WWII. It ended. I think people have the wrong idea of Bosnia and Herezegovina. When I have work and I can eat, I don’t think about problems because I am satisfied. And you know how easy it is to calm people down? Give them bread and games and you can manipulate them the way you want for the good. But we only have games here, not bread.” Says Lija.
They often talk about the war, but mainly joke a lot especially pointing out some of the goofball things that happened. There are monuments in the way of tanks and planes that have been set aside to remind people of the war.
A bonus on the DVD is “Director’s Commentary” that can be turned on to give you some idea of how it was made. In addition there is a Gallery of photos from the film that show the people and the club.
Among Wolves has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains language. The film spools out in Bosnian with English subtitles.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good documentary that shows the hearts of the people. (3.5 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Director: Shawn Convey
Writer: Kevin Ripp
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains language
Genre: Documentary, Foreign, Bosnian
Running Time: 1 hr. 34 min.
Video Release Date: February 12, 2019
Original Theatrical Release Date: October 18, 2016
Language: Bosnian with English Subtitles
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: Stereo Surround 5.1
Video: 16×9 Widescreen
Subtitles: English, Spanish and CC
Number of Discs: 1 disc
Released in: DVD and VOD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
