Buick Riviera (film)

Buick Riviera
Directed by	Goran Rušinović
Written by	Goran Rušinović, Miljenko Jergović
Produced by	Boris T. Matić, Mike Downey, Sam Taylor, Kate Barry
Starring	Slavko Stimac, Leon Lucev, Aimee Klein, Shawn Miramontes
Release date	August 2008 (2008-08) (Sarajevo Film Festival)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	Croatia
Language	English

Buick Riviera is a 2008 drama film by director Goran Rušinović, based on the novel Buick Rivera by Miljenko Jergović. It was awarded the "Heart of Sarajevo" award as the Best Film at the 2008 Sarajevo Film Festival.

Plot

Hasan Hujdur is a 42-year-old Muslim from Bosnia living in North Dakota, who finds refuge and contentment behind the wheel of his 1965 Buick Riviera. Surrounding everything that Hasan loves is a prejudiced world afraid of a culture they cannot understand and a religion they cannot comprehend. Hasan is a quiet man who stands distant from his beliefs, however it is these beliefs that inevitably lead to his untimely death.

On the way to pick up his wife from work at the local hospital, he falls asleep at the wheel of his Buick and runs it off the road, getting stuck in the snow. He is discovered by Vuko Salipur, who stops to help him. They both immediately recognise that they are from the same country and both understand the irony of a Bosnian stopping to help another Bosnian in a country full of all different races and colours.

Despite their similar background it soon becomes clear that Muslim Hasan and non-Muslim Vuko are very different. Their continuing interaction results in ever increasing tension between them, ultimately with tragic consequences.

Accolades

• Best Screenplay. Pula Film Festival 2008. Golden Arena.
• Heart of Sarajevo. Sarajevo Film Festival 2008.
• Best Actor. Slavko Stimac. Leon Lucev. Sarajevo Film Festival 2008.

External links

• Buick Riviera at IMDb
• Buick Riviera | Review | Screen
• A Path of No Return: Goran Rušinović's Buick Riviera (Film Review)