It's difficult to imagine a situation in which any of us would be forced to shoot and kill our best friend. But then, it's difficult for Americans to understand the civil war in Yugoslavia and the ethnic violence that shattered the peace of Sarajevo.
The made-for-cable movie "Shot Through the Heart" (Sunday, 9 p.m., HBO) is shattering as it recounts the true story of just such an incident in that horrific war.Vlado Sarzinsky (Linus Roache) and Slavko Simic (Vincent Perez) were the closest of friends. Closer than brothers. They were both members of a professional shooting team and both had Olympic aspirations.
The fact that Sarskinsky was a Croat married to a Muslim and Simic was a Serbian had never mattered to either of them. That is, until violence broke out in Bosnia and they found themselves on opposite sides.
But this is not a war that's easy to understand. Although it's generally seen as the aggressive Bosnian Serbs attacking the Muslims, that's a simplification.
"It's like the KKK surrounds Manhattan and they have control of every weapon the army has and they're out to kill the blacks and the Jews," said David Falk, who wrote the Details magazine article on which the movie is based. "And you're an Irish guy sitting in Manhattan - what do you do?"
Sarzinsky, again, is Polish-Croatian, but found himself drawn into the fight on the side of the Muslims. And when he discovers that Simic has been acting as a sniper, killing anyone who moved - including innocent women and children - he comes to the painful decision that his best friend must be eliminated.
Above the incredible personal story, "Shot Through the Heart" also brings an almost incomprehensible war home for American viewers. Many people in this country (including yours truly) seem to have the idea that Bosina and Sarajevo are backward, third-world areas where violence and death have always been everyday occurrences.
But the movie demonstrates that these are people just like us. At one point, a disbelieving Sarzinksy tells friends that he won't become a refugee - that he's living in Yugoslavia, not Somalia.
And part of the reason "Shot Through the Heart" works is that it doesn't attempt to fully explain all the politics involved. There's a smattering - largely through the characters watching actual news reports from the time - but even the people involved are confused about how this could have happened.
"If you're looking to educate yourself in the politics and history of the place, the movie's not for you," said Falk. "But the one thing I hope comes across is that you would recognize these people as your next-door neighbors. They watch `90210,' they have Luke Perry posters in their daughters' rooms. . . . Hopefully, you'll identify with the characters and that way you can maybe identify with the poltiics and the history of the place a little better."
The very fact that these are people just like us makes it even harder to watch when a mother discovers her young daughter shot through the head by a sniper in front of their home. Or to watch a young boy being killed - then to watch as his grieving mother is shot to death when she runs to him.
It's absolutely horrifying and heart-wrenching.
"I am not something special," said Sarzinksy, who was flown in from Yugoslavia to meet with TV critics recently. "I am just an ordinary guy with an ordinary family in an ordinary town. It can happen."
And Sarzinsky is more than pleased with the end result.
"I showed the film to my closest friends only," Sarzinsky said. "And it was really touching. Soldiers, ex-soldiers who spent with me four years - they cry. They said it's honest."
"Shot Through the Heart" is unrated, but would probably get an R for violence and strong language.