War films are a dime a dozen but I’ve never seen anything quite like Vinko Bresan’s Will Not Stop There. Granted, Bresan’s film isn’t exactly a war film per say since the bulk of the story unfolds after the war but the story starts during the war.

It would be unfair to divulge the plot of the story since one of the film’s major strengths is the way in which it unfolds. The opening twenty minutes of the film are a series of events that seem to lead nowhere and when we finally get there, it’s still not quite clear what Martin, the film’s lead, is up to. With the help of a porn star/nose player (yes, Djuro plays his nose like most people would play a clarinet), Martin goes in search of Desa, a woman he finally finds at a brothel. Why he wants her and what his plan is won’t be clear for some time and film does an excellent job of slowly unfolding the mystery; kudos to Bresan and co-writers Mate Matisic and Franjo Mogus for creating a film which successfully builds the suspense.

The film doesn’t get itself bogged down in the drama which unfolds and that too is clear from the opening scene in which we’re introduced to Djuro the nose player, providing a voiceover to the film as if it were a long forgotten fairy tale. Will Not Stop There carefully and successfully walks the fine line of drama and comedy and though it keeps you guessing as to whether it will end well or not, the final scene doesn’t feel like a cheap cop out but rather well earned.

Funny, touching and sometimes sad, Will Not Stop There is not exactly a heartwarming film but it is uplifting and down right entertaining.