The Load

Though rarely spoken of, the unseen contents of a plain white cargo van are at the center of Ognjen Glavonić’s tense and moving political drama about moral responsibility during times of war and conflict. Leon Lučev plays Vlada, a driver for hire for the Serbian government, transporting a vehicle from Kosovo to Belgrade. His journey takes him into unexpected territory, both physical and ethical. Glavonić’s absorbing film occasionally departs from Vlada’s trip, following secondary characters and moments, details that subtly underline the omnipresent circles of moral culpability and their impact.

“Taking inspiration from shocking real-life events, the writer-director’s debut fictional feature goes a step further, illustrating that the emotional toll is both utterly inescapable and often relegated to fester in the recesses of memory. It’s a weighty, complex subject, but one this clear-eyed political thriller doesn’t shy away from at any moment.”—Sarah Ward, Screen International

“An exceptional war film that never once shows the atrocities of war, never tries to represent the unrepresentable. Rather, Glavonić’s focus is on the heavy burden of guilt borne by those who, even if they never participated directly and tried only to cope with the difficulties of war, by their very inaction make themselves complicit in war’s horrors.”—Azadeh Jafari, Cinema Scope