That Summer of White Roses [DVD]

That summer of white roses is set in Yugoslavia in the summer of 1944 and centres around a laconic riverside community,a community untouched by the war around them.On this riverbank Tom Conti's dare I say simpleton character (Andrija) lives and works as a lifeguard with nothing much to do but laze around and bask in the glorious sun.It's not that he is unwilling to work it's quite simply that no-one ever needs rescuing.Often ridiculed by his peers this simple yet unassuming and quite frankly amiable chap has no family and his only friend seems to be a local fisherman Martin (Rod Steiger).Together they fish and tell stories of the "water devil" to anyone who will listen,which further ridicules Andrija.
Unbeknownst to Andrija his world is about to change forever when a Jewish mother and her young son turn to him for protection from the Germans.He duly obliges and a marriage of convenience seems an obvious solution.Although Susan George as the Jewish mother performs well enough its the scenes between the boy and Andrija which steal the show.The two play with toy boats on the river and the boy is young enough to listen to Andrija's stories.Andrija revels in this and although somewhat older its as if they were the same age.
Life carries on in this idyllic place until one day Andrija saves the life of a drowning man,but who has hes saved?and what implications will this have on his future you will have to watch for yourself (no spoilers here).
This is a drama and not an all out action war film which tells a soft subtle tale of a man whose innocence is lost and one who is forced to quickly grow up due to circumstances forced upon him and we can all relate to that.It is very slow going for the first hour and some viewers may be tempted to switch off but I urge you to stick with it because the final thirty minutes is where the film comes together.It's worth watching just for Andrija's epiphany at the end of the film on the riverbank (even simpletons can have an epiphany).The location shooting looks just stunning if a little blurry at times due to the print.This was obviously a low budget made for T.V film and with no restoration does show it's age.
Not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but a worthwhile effort all the same and I am glad I stuck with it till the end.
There are no extras on the disc at all and its filmed in English which i thought was odd being a joint British,Yugoslavian production.I always enjoy a film more when its in its original language.

This is quite possibly one of the poorest films I have had the misfortune to have to sit through.From the opening scenes of Tom Conti's very eighties hair cut to the poor acting and production values!
This really is a shocker, a complete waste of time, the acting is poor and the stars Susan George and Tom Conti would probably liked to have seen this rubbish buried years ago!The story tries to work as a mystery and a wartime drama and fails miserably on both levels.
Save your money and buy something else from either Georges or Conti's back catalogue.