"WITNESSES" "When Krešo and Joško come, give them my regards." "Krešo won't come." "Stay strong, Marija!" "Come on!" "What are you looking at me for?" "The house was supposed to be empty." "Supposed to be." "No kidding!" "You said that Vasiæ was in Hungary." "I did." "How did you know?" "I saw the Serb getting into his car and leaving!" "I am afraid he is back." "Are you sure he is dead?" "We are sure." "He is..." "What?" "What?" "There is a witness." "seal off the kitchen and the bathroom." "Barbir, I need you." "So... are you a crime reporter now?" "Turn that off!" "It cannot stay in the garage!" "We can't even let it out." "Why not?" "Let it out?" "Yes." "Let it out?" "Are you serious?" "Gojo!" "You may not have done the shooting, but you were there." " You can't let it out." " Of course." "police!" "I'II talk to them." "Stay away from the window." "Good morning!" "Sorry to bother you." "Your neighbor Mr. Vasiæ, was murdered last night." "Yes." "Did you hear any shots... or did you see... maybe a car passing by?" "Or maybe someone running?" "Anything suspicious?" "My condolences!" "I have to bury my husband today... he was killed on the front." "Maybe someone in the house saw something." "No." "That's my son and two more who brought my husband from the Chetnik village." "My apologies." "My condolences." "What did he say?" "He doesn't know anything." "What are we going to do?" "I'II talk to uncle Matiæ." "Yes, him." "Mom!" "He can fix this." "Mom..." "Krešo." "Don't you even dare drag Krešo into this." ""Jesus answered them... the time has come to glorify the Son of man," "He who loves his life, will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world, will keep it for eternal life." "He who wants to serve me, must follow me." "Wherever I am, there shall also be my servant." "He who wants to serve me, will be honored by my Father."" "Ready arms!" "Load!" "Ready!" "Aim!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Move!" "Position!" "salute!" "I need to talk to you." "What's done, is done." "And that cannot be undone." "Not everything has to always be as bad as it seems." "If the police don't have any evidence, even if they name suspects, the worst that can happen to the suspects, is to be held for questioning... for a few days." "Provided that the suspects don't give each other up, everything will be okay." "In those cases, nobody insists on anything." "And what about..." "Drive to City hall." "How could you let this happen?" "We were drunk." "We were only supposed to blow up the house." "Drunk?" "!" "You let these kids kill, and now you're quiet." "Who do you think... should clean this mess up?" "Gojo..." "You're the oldest!" "You're the oldest." "I'II do it." "How?" "Bariæ and I will come with the car tonight, and you'II wait by the garage." "Me?" "Wait." "You'II shoot?" "I'II put it in the trunk and take it to the field." "CASHIER" "Let's go!" "Come on!" "I'II stay a little longer!" "Quit fucking around, I'm not walking home." "And you?" "I will too, after I take care of this." "Wait!" " Wait for what?" " Wait for Bariæ." "What do I need Bariæ for!" " I won't go anywhere without him." " I'II do it with or without him." "calm down!" "Let the man finish his drink." "I don't have time." "I must do this right now!" "It's still light out." "You want more witnesses?" "!" "Excuse me, are you Ljubo?" "Can I ask you something about Vasiæ?" "Where is Bariæ... he can go to hell." "What were you doing?" "Let's go!" "You won't!" "seal off the kitchen and the bathroom." "Barbir, I need you." "So... are you a crime reporter now?" "Yeah." "I also need you privately." "Hey, Barbir!" "I'II be in my office in two hours." "please, have them get me that report." "So I know what to say, if anybody asks." "Watch where you step, there's evidence." "He was shot at the front door." "Are there any witnesses?" "apparently not." "Vasiæ lived alone." "Any fingerprints?" "None." "It's too early." " Any suspects?" " There will be." "Vasiæ was a peculiar character, and a Serb at that." "I'II keep you informed." "What did you need me for?" "well... remember the shape I was in the other night?" "Yeah, I remember." "We're done." "The body can go to the coroner." "Fine." "If anyone would have come along..." "It's fine." "I understand." "You don't have to worry about that." "Krešo's coming today." "I wouldn't want" " Neither would I." "I'm going to the neighbor's to investigate." "Wait for me downstairs, I'II be right there." "Did Vasiæ have a child?" "Yeah, but not living with him." "When I was a kid, I had a teddy bear like this one." "My condolences!" "Turn that off!" "I'II see you at the cemetery." " My condolences." " So, did Vasiæ have a daughter?" "Yes, his Croat wife took the little one... with her a couple of years ago." "And now she lives in Serbia with a lieutenant, and this criminal here." "AII the stuff he smuggled in from Hungary!" "The daughter could have come through Hungary to visit him!" "Him?" "Bring the daughter home?" "No way!" "And now, the 15 of you will investigate what happened to that Serb, who killed him and why." "Look at this house!" "That man really struggled." "He worked his whole life, built a house and got killed." "His funeral is today." "You should find out how and why he got killed." "Shame on you for investigating here!" "Shame on you!" "Ask Josipoviæ if he's ready." "Good morning." "Sorry to bother you." "Your neighbor, Jovan Vasiæ, was killed last night." "Yes." "Why should I care about Vasiæ!" "?" "We care." "Fucking around with that crap in the middle of war!" "I heard you wanted to repay the debt with a truckload of tennis balls." "So what?" "people like Vasiæ prefer money." "Yeah, and this one liked tennis better." "What are you interested in?" "What he ate last?" "For starters, how he died." "Army-issue, 7.62 caliber, machine-gun burst to the chest, shot from below at a distance." "There was another burst, but from another gun." "7.62?" "Yes, they're a dime a dozen..." "all over the place." "Nothing unusual about it." "Look at them, they're all the same caliber." "An epidemic!" "This is Vasiæ." "Do you really care about what he ate last?" "chocolate cereal." "Imagine, such a big Serb, eating kids' food." "Who knows?" "You know what they said about Vasiæ." "That he was a spy, a Chetnik, funneling money to rebels in Krajina." "That he'd go to Knin on the weekends to beat our people in the prisons." "half the city wanted him dead." "They also say you owed him money." "Two thousand marks!" "Due in three months." "Get serious!" "Like I'd kill him for that!" "I've seen people kill for less." "Who doesn't owe money here?" "especially Vasiæ." "talk to Ljubo... they worked together until Ljubo opened his cafe." "Vasiæ got pissed because Ljubo started lending money too." "And who knows..." "maybe Ljubo fired first." "Barbir, I have no money." "The entire 109th was here yesterday." "hardly any of them paid." "I came because of Vasiæ." "Tough shit!" "He can't lend you cash anymore." "Do you know anything about it?" " Are you asking me?" " He was a Ioan shark, Iike you." " That doesn't matter." " Doesn't matter?" "So what does?" "I don't know... but that has nothing to do with me." "So you have nothing to hide." "We'II open your warehouse and we'II see." "Then, we'II take you in for smuggling." "And while you're locked up, we'II investigate." "The bar will remain closed, of course." "If it gets out that I squealed, you can shoot me in the head at once." "There were three guys, they mentioned Vasiæ." " Which three?" " Shit, I don't know." "You know how many soldiers come and go." "Everyday they get drunk, get into fights, the ambulance comes..." "One with a big head, one with a big nose, and an ugly one." "Very ugly." "Do you think Vasiæ would leave if his house weren't in the city?" "Not a house, it's a mansion!" "He keeps adding on to it." "He doesn't even think of leaving." "He has it good here." "He smuggles, steals..." "he has Saint Sava above his door, he doesn't care about the war." "He's untouchable." "He has a house, turns the heater on, leans on the window, watches the funeral processions." "For him, it's like watching cartoons." "If he weren't in Hungary, he'd be extending his condolences, the motherfucker!" "Boys, here's your bill!" "A big-nosed one, a big-headed one and an ugly one?" "The 109th?" "No names, right?" "Right." "And I should send a request to investigate the 109th MPs?" "well, yeah." "Barbir, everybody in the Department will laugh at me." "If I send that request..." "you know what will happen." "The 109th leaves for the front tomorrow, and I'm supposed to hold the whole unit?" "Or should we just hold the big-headed, big-nosed and ugly one?" "You can't arrest them in the middle of the war, just because someone claims they were talking about Vasiæ the night before!" "It doesn't work!" "Besides, who's the one that reported the soldiers?" "A smuggler and Ioan shark like Vasiæ?" "Check him out a little better." "So, it's not a good story that the police are on the wrong track." "It's not a good story that Vasiæ's daughter could be a witness." "It would be a great story, however, to say that Vasiæ was a Ioan shark, smuggler, criminal, wrongdoer, murderer, and that he killed himself with two machine-guns, because he had a guilty conscience!" "Let's take good care of this editor, he's too valuable to lose!" "He was shot at the front door." "Are there any witnesses?" "apparently not." "Vasiæ lived alone." "Any fingerprints?" "None." "It's too early." " Any suspects?" " There will be." " What did you need me for?" " well... remember the shape I was in the other night?" "Yeah, I remember." "If anyone would have come along..." "It's fine." "I understand." "My wife is in a coma." "You don't have to worry about that." "You can't just sit there!" "I'm sorry, but that's not very wise." "You should talk about nice things, about love." "Those that come out of it, say they heard everything that was said in front of them." "Who knows, maybe those things will help her come out of it." "I'II be honest with you, not much can be done." "You can only wait for her organs to stop functioning." "You can take her to Zagreb, to switzerland, to fucking hell!" " But chances are slim." " I have no money to go abroad." "You're not listening to me." "The surgery can be done here." "Matiæ does that, but there's no point." ""The" Matiæ?" "He still works here?" "If there was any hope for Vjera, she'd already be on the waiting list." "Can you get me in touch with Matiæ?" "Matiæ is terrific." "But since he became Mayor, he only operates on Fridays." "Barbir, no connection will help you here." ""And Jesus answered them, the time has come, to glorify the Son of man." "truly, truly I say to you." "If a grain of wheat falls onto the earth and does not die, it will be on its own." "If it dies, it will bring in a bountiful harvest." "He who loves his life, will lose it." "He who hates his life in this world, will keep it for eternal life." "He who wants to serve me, must follow me." "Wherever I am, there shall also be my servant." "He who wants to serve me, will be honored by my Father."" "I need you." "Did you go to the pathologist?" "Matiæ should operate on Vjera ." "He's your cousin, isn't he?" "Not mine, Krešo's." "Can you get me in touch with him?" "I guess so." "I wouldn't ask you if it weren't urgent." "It's a bit awkward now, but I'II ask." "No problem." "Any news about the girl?" "What girl?" "I'm talking about Vasiæ's daughter." "Vasiæ was a Ioan shark." "Some borrower killed him." "That has to be investigated." "He doesn't have a daughter." "Maybe someone at the house saw something." "No." "My son is there, and two more who brought my husband from the Chetnik village." "Let's go!" "Come on!" "I'II stay a little longer." "Quit fucking around, I'm not walking home." "And you?" "I will too, after I take care of this." "I don't know what to tell you." "There are already six patients on the waiting list and if I take your wife first, it could affect somebody else." "She was wounded a month ago." "Maybe among those cases, there are some milder ones..." "Barbir..." " VjekosIav, right?" " Yes." " You work for the police." " Yes." " On the murder of that Serb?" " Vasiæ." "We talked about that at the City council meeting." "Any progress yet?" "well, some." "There are suspects." "soldiers from the 109th." "I'II give a report to the DA tomorrow." "109th." "109th." "Do you think that's wise?" "Why?" "109th... those are our boys." "I don't know why we should rush the investigation." "Maybe you should leave it for better times." "I don't understand." "See, this is shrapnel." "Many people have gotten wounded like that." "When the war is over, there will be time for investigations, for suspects, trials, and prisons." "The 109th leaves for the frontline tomorrow." "At times like these, it's better not to find out certain things." "They can do a Iot of harm." "Go on to your wife now, while I prepare for the operation." "So you'II operate on her, then?" "We can operate tomorrow morning." "That would be great." "Be with her tonight, all right?" "Of course." "The nurse will prepare Vjera for the operation." "Excuse me!" "seal off the kitchen and bathroom." "Barbir, I need you." "VIasic was a peculiar character, and a Serb at that." "I'II keep you informed." "What did you need me for?" "I'm sorry, I couldn't before." "It doesn't matter, I'm on duty anyway." "What was stolen?" "well... two printers and a typewriter." "No signs of a break-in." "Who has keys?" "Do you know who has keys?" "Keys?" "I don't know." "You'II have to ask the others when they come in the morning." "Were there any strangers in the office today?" "Did anybody come in?" "What's wrong with you?" " My condolences." " Thank you!" "Turn that off!" "We'II all miss him." "Yes, he liked you." "Krešo is coming today." "Yes, I know!" "Can you believe this Vasiæ thing?" "I just feel sorry for the girl." "We won't be able to tell her." "She'II find out when the war is over." "I'II see you at the cemetery." " What's wrong with you?" " I'm sorry." "I was told that my boyfriend was wounded." "I don't know if he's alive, dead, where he is... nothing." " We have to go to the shelter." " I can't." "I really can't." "Fine." "You stay here." "I'II go downstairs so they don't give you any trouble for not being there." "please stay, I can't be alone." "please." "I'm sorry about this." "I don't want to bother you." "That's why you told me not to go to the hospital?" "I didn't need you looking at me." "Who else didn't you tell?" "Joško told Mom and the others." "So I'm the only one you didn't tell?" "What's there to tell?" "The wound heals, I wear a prosthesis and I'm up and running again." "At night, we turn the lights off." "Where's the problem?" "problem?" "No problem." "I just don't know what you wanted" "To surprise me by coming back as a disabled war hero?" "You thought I'd leave you when you told me?" "Krešo, you can't be so stupid." "Don't you realize you're offending me?" "You should have told me!" "What am I to you?" "What?" "Nothing!" "What am I to do now?" "To do what I was supposed to do before you came?" "There!" "You don't need that anymore!" "I'm sorry!" "I'm sorry!" "I'm sorry!" "I have to go to my Mom's." "Mom..." "Krešo." "Don't you even dare drag Krešo into this." "You've lost weight..." "Come on in!" "How are you, bro?" "I'm Croatian, Croatian!" "Croatian, Croatian!" "I'II turn myself in." "Turn yourself in?" "Why should you?" "You didn't shoot." "Joško and I did." "Do you want to get us in trouble?" ""Jesus answered them: 'the time has come to glorify the Son of man." "truly, truly I tell you," "If a grain of wheat that faIIs onto the earth doesn't die, it will be on its own." "If it dies, it will bring in a bountiful harvest." "He who loves his life, will lose it." "He who hates his life in this world, will keep it for eternal life." "He who wants to serve me, must follow me." "Wherever I am, there shall also be my servant." "He who wants to serve me, will be honored by my Father."'" "King TomisIav 4." "No, No." "SIavonian Street." "I'm going to the office." " Are you going back to work?" " well, I have to." "The editor's an asshole, he pulled the Vasiæ text." "The daughter may have been a witness." " And that's why you're not going home?" " Yes." "King TomisIav 4." "It's better that he pulled it." "Why should I read about how a Chetnik died?" "Hey, they killed an unarmed civilian!" "until recently, my father was also a civilian." "Do you know how many of our people die everyday?" "Don't you watch the news?" "Yesterday it was my Dad, today... another ten." "while our people die, he keeps raking in the cash." "If at Ieast he'd use that money to help." "Fuck him!" "He sends money to Krajina." "Do you think he would have been prosecuted after the war?" "Imagine that." "I don't give a shit about him." "You sound like your Mom." "She'd enjoy hearing that from you." "No." "She'd enjoy hearing you." "SIavonian Street, please." "Hi!" "Krešo, Iet's have one for your old man." "Lidija is a fine girl, but mom's not happy you moved in with her." "especially since she's older." "Now she thinks that Lidija has brainwashed you." "I know it's not Iike that, but the moment Mom spoke against her, you moved to Lidija's, and no news for two months." "When we come back, smooth things over with her." "will you?" "And what about..." "No witnesses." "None." "And if no one knows about them, no one needs to know either." "And that which was not seen, did not happen." "So, wise up." "Bye, Marija!" "Drive to City hall." "75 Kn." " So I'm supposed to do it?" " Somebody has to." "You overdid it." "Hi, mother." "Go." "Go and settle it!" "will anybody tell me what's going on?" "No!" "Goodbye!" "Come on, sit down." "Are you okay?" "Fine." "Is Joško okay?" "I mean, because of me." "He misses you." "Without you, he doesn't know what he's doing." " How do you make goulash?" " Why?" "I should fix something," "Lidija has no time." "She's working on Vasiæ's murder." "She says his daughter witnessed it, so she's investigating." "What does Lidija have to investigate?" "She's hanging all day long with the police and with Barbir." " people see things and then gossip." " Mother!" "Today you buried your father, and you feel like cooking!" "Mother!" "Enough!" "Fine." "Cook, if you have to." " Wait." " Wait for what?" "Wait for Bariæ." "What for?" "We won't go without him." "Where is Bariæ?" "He can go to hell!" "calm down!" "Let the man finish his drink." "I don't have time." "I must do this right now!" "It's still light out." "Do you want more witnesses?" "Excuse me, are you Ljubo?" "I want to ask you something about Vasiæ." "What is it, fuckers?" "Want to know who killed the Chetnik?" "I'm writing about it." "Do you know anything about Vasiæ's affairs?" "I do." "I saw everything, and I know everything." "What are you looking at?" "You sit here in town, wondering how the Chetnik died." "He died like everyone else, just a Iot easier." "You think death is slow, with music like in the movies?" "Shit!" "You hold on to your buddy's guts so they don't fall out of his belly." "He screams, and you pray to God he dies." "Not for his sake, but for yours." "What do you think will happen with all of us?" "We are all witnesses." "Fuck it!" "Who needs us?" "We should all be killed." "Us, the women and children, the girl, and the witnesses in the garage!" "Everybody!" "What are we good for?" " What were you doing?" " Let's go." "I'II do it." "Bariæ!" "They'II kill her!" "Oh!" "Motherfucker!" "Fuck you, you idiot!" "You motherfucker!" "Gojo, get in!" "Let's go!" "Get in, Gojo!" "Let's go!" "Come on, Iet's go!" "Hey, Iet's go!" "Come on, Gojo!" "Motherfucker!" "Run on your own!" "And the girl?" "What about the girl?" "She's fine." "calm down, easy!" " I need the certificate!" " What certificate?" "The girl, they have her in a garage!" "That's the Iast thing he said!" "The one who said that went nuts." "I need the certificate for the insurance." " Who will believe me?" " Where is Barbir?" "He's with his wife at the hospital." "The MPs will give you the certificate." "Not me." "The military police will give me dick, not the certificate!" "And when they kill the girl, her blood will be on your hands!" "I need the certificate!" "I'm sorry!" "The 109th leaves tomorrow." "The investigation was inconclusive." "I think this matter is closed." "And how come I find out from inspector Barbir that there are suspects and you don't know about it?" "well, er..." "As a matter of fact, we're just getting some leads, but there will be no problems." "I was convinced you'd make a better DA, than a clerk at a hardware store." "I hope I wasn't mistaken." "Krešo, they'II kill the girl!" "Listen!" "They'II kill her!" "Imagine!" "To get into Vasiæ's house, to kill him before his daughter's own eyes, then take her someplace to wait for her own execution." "What kind of people are capable of that!" "And the fucking police don't give a damn!" "They don't care if there are children's toys at Vasiæ's, the girl is supposedly in Serbia." "They don't care if a grown man eats chocolate cereal." "They don't care if Bariæ blew his brains in front of me, saying that they will kill the girl." "For them, all that is normal." "For them, the girl doesn't exist." "I'II turn myself in." "Turn yourself in?" "Why should you?" "You didn't shoot." "Joško and I did." "will anybody tell me what's going on?" "No." "They'II kill the girl, they'II kill her!" "Where are you?" "In front of the hospital." "Wait for me, I'm coming." "You'II get killed one of these days!" "tell me it wasn't you!" "tell me it wasn't you!" "What is it?" "Speak!" "Speak!" "tell me it wasn't you!" "Both Gojo and Bariæ are gone." "I got the Mercedes." "Did you have to blow it up with them?" "My, the shit you get yourself into!" "When you're not around." "I'm here now." "Are you?" "What the fuck is wrong with you!" "?" "You're fucking up again." "Like at school." "When did you ever go to school?" "Joško, this isn't school anymore." "You steal the roll book, I burn it to save you, and they catch me instead." "How will you press the clutch?" "Come on, really..." "how will you drive?" "That's no problem at all." "you take the bike's brake, you mount it on the gear shift, attach the cable to the clutch, and you shift gears." "That's it." "Not very complicated mechanics." "I'II have it done in two afternoons." "The best is to drive an automatic like I do." "No clutch." "Give me the car keys." "When Mom faIIs asleep, I'II pick up the girl." "You'II never see her again." "Go on home now!" "Don't!" "We've boobytrapped it!" "You dragged Krešo into this..." " Hey, Bara!" " What?" "I bet you 100 DM I'II hit that sheep over there!" "My, I hit it!" "You'II take care of everything?" "Yes." "You said I'd never see the girl again." "You won't." "You're lying." "I'II take her across the border and let her go." "Someone will take care of her." "Liar!" "You want to fuck me over!" "What?" "You'd rather kill her?" "Do you want me to end up in jail!" "?" "I do." "I'II turn you in." " You won't." " I will." " You won't, because of Mom." " I will, Joško." "You won't!" "You must kill me first." "I won't keep quiet, Joško." "Are you doing it for her?" "For Lidija, huh?" "You just don't get it." "Who'II be there for you when it's all over?" "Who'II listen to you?" "Who'II be there for you when it's all over?" "only me!" "You hear?" "You'II only have me!" "HOLY CROSS" " So, maybe she was." " She wasn't!" " And what if she was?" " She was." " But you just said she wasn't." " I did." "Was she a Croat or not?" " She wasn't." " Are you sure?" "I'm not." "So it means that maybe she was." " A Croat!" " So she was!" "Croatian!" "What the fuck was she doing in that house, if she was a Croat?" "Why wouldn't a Croat woman live there?" "Her house and everything she had is there." "Where else would she go?" "Do you think Vasiæ would've stayed in the city if that wasn't his house?" "Not a house, it's a mansion!" "He keeps adding on to it." "He doesn't even think of leaving." "He has it good here." "He smuggles, steals..." "he has Saint Sava above his door, he doesn't care about the war." "He's untouchable." "He has a house, turns the heater on, leans on the window, watches the funeral processions." "For him, it's like watching cartoons." "If he weren't in Hungary, he'd be extending his condolences, the motherfucker!" "Don't!" "We've boobytrapped it!" "A film by VINKO BREŠAN" "Based on "ALABASTER SHEEP" a novel by Jurica Pavièiæ" "Directed by Vinko Brešan" "Producer Ivan MaIoc" "Producer Ljubo Šikic" "screenplay" " Jurica Pavièiæ, Vinko Brešan, Živko ZaIar" "Director of Photography Živko ZaIar" "Editor Sandra Botica Brešan" "Composer Mate Matišiæ" "Art Director Mario Iveziæ" "Costumes ŽeIjka FranuIoviæ" "Make Up Artist Janusz KaIeja" "Sound Design Ranko Paukoviæ" "Cast"