The atrocities perpetrated by former Serbian Communists and their Bosnian Serb allies were appalling, and the Free World’s ineffective response was a disgrace that hasn't been properly depicted on film yet. *The Hunting Party* had some interesting parts, but it suffered from a lackluster central performance and seemed more interested in criticizing NATO for not aggressively pursuing those accused of war crimes than in showing what actually happened. Although flawed, writer-director Agim Sopi’s *Anatema*, now out on DVD, offers an important alternative, bringing attention to Serbian war crimes specifically related to Kosovo. Sopi initially planned to record the events happening in Kosovo with a documentary, but when the Serbian army seized his footage, he had to change course and make a fictional film instead. After surviving the Serbs’ violence, Schwartz broadcasts his report, only to be told by his network to stop because NATO was about to intervene. He and his field producer want to take Berisha with them, but she insists on going back home to Pristina. Despite the happiness of finally being reunited with her fiancé, leading to a wedding they'd put off for a long time, Pristina quickly becomes a nightmare. Serbian forces occupy the city, deliberately using systematic rape as a means of terror and control before forcing people out of Kosovo into Albania. When Berisha returns to Kosovo, she is rejected by her husband and most of her friends. No one wants her to keep her baby—she doesn’t know if it was conceived on her wedding night. The Kosovars don't want her to raise a child potentially linked to Serbian war crimes or with Serbian heritage. The Serbs don’t want such children to live, as they could serve as proof of their actions. Berisha is determined not to let Ana, her unborn daughter, be punished for the wrongdoings of others. *Anatema* (a combination of “Ana” and “Ema”) might just be considered the most pro-life film ever made. Berisha is forced to give up Ana for adoption temporarily, but when she goes back to get her, the agency has disappeared. She finds Ana at a nursery that’s been taken over by former Communists and new criminals who are trading babies—both to make money and to hide evidence of war crimes. *Anatema* is essentially a story about a mother, and its success depends heavily on the actress playing the lead role. Unlike Richard Gere in *The Hunting Party*, Lumnie Sopi is excellent as Ema. Unfortunately, several of the other actors aren’t as strong, though Blerim Gjoci is likable and believable as the kind Kosovar Commander Shpati. Director Sopi really puts you into occupied Kosovo, rightfully making viewers face up to the reality of the war crimes that took place there. He can be a bit obvious at times, like when he shows a crowd rushing forward and stepping on a baby’s doll. Nevertheless, his depictions of Serbian brutality and the international peacekeeping forces' lack of understanding are powerfully unsettling, all held together by a remarkable lead performance.

Source on TMDB