Loss: Part 2

FUSE (2003) (B+) - From Bosnia, set two years after the end of the brutal civil war that tore Yugoslavia apart, Muslims and Serbs in a small town must quickly learn to get along so that they can clean up their act in order to host a visit from President Clinton.

This Bosnian Hooterville features a crumbling top cop helming a bumbling police department, rampant graft and a low-level thug who runs a prostitution ring. With international overseers looking over their shoulder, the townsfolk must cobble together at least the illusion of democracy. Not to mention a ragged marching band and a child choir learning their way around "The House of the Rising Sun."

The result is a bittersweet throwback to more wholesome moviemaking. Director Pjer Zalica borrows the pace and styling of veteran filmmaker -- and fellow Sarajevan -- Emir Kusturica ("Underground," "Black Cat, White Cat") to great effect.

The fly in the ointment -- besides keeping the thugs in line for a few days -- is Zaim, the retired police chief who is shell-shocked and hallucinates face-to-face conversations with his son, virile Adnan, who was killed in the war. Zaim's other son, firefighter Faruk, is at a loss as to his father's mental breakdown. A woman he fancies falls victim to land mines. He and a pal bond with two Serbs assigned the same ragtag duties of "security."

With the title "Fuse," you would expect an explosive conclusion, and Zalica delivers, keeping his sense of humor to the end. What he has crafted is both touching and lovably amusing. It's a thoughtful time capsule.

BONUS TRACK
From the soundtrack, the chanteuse take on "Guarda che Luna":