The Load Film Difficulty Ranking: 4
If you’re looking for a fun road movie like Thelma and Louise or Y Tu Mama Tambien, you’ve come to the wrong place. The Load is a brutal depiction of a country traumatised by war – it’s not a place where humour exists. There are no bright colours and no sweeping landscape shots. No one really knows what they’re doing, and there aren’t any dreams.
From: Serbia, Europe
Watch: Trailer
Next: Shok, The Trader, Mardan
Why Watch The Load?
- Get a feel for life in Serbia after the Yugoslav War
- Meet an aspiring rock band member
- See how the country changes from the rural south to the capital city
- For lots of intentionally dull, dreary colours
The Breakdown
A middle aged man gets assigned to another lorry to drive from the rural south of Serbia to Belgrade. He doesn’t question what’s in the truck or try to look inside it, despite hearing a few knocking sounds from the back. He only needs the money, so does what his employer’s tell him to do.
The majority of the film takes place on the road during a single day. Along the route, Vlada (the driver), picks up a hitchhiker and stops at a bunch of places en route. Each of the stops gives us a different insight into the depressing state of post-war Serbia. There’s a burned down bridge which forces Vlada to take a detour, a giant war memorial at the top of a hill, and a wedding where the kids turn deodorant cans into mini flamethrowers around the back of the hall for entertainment. It’s bleak.
No one they meet seem to have much of a purpose or meaning to their life, they all just appear to be sleep walking through it. It’s the same for Vlada, the hitchhiker, and Vlada’s son. None of them really seem to know what to do with their lives in Serbia. Vlada drives the truck without questioning what’s in it, the hitchhiker is trying to leave the country, and Vlada’s son doesn’t appear to be at school or working. There’s no evidence of any legitimate opportunities or dreams in this post-war wasteland.
What is the Load?
The load in Vlada’s truck is never explicitly revealed. There’s only a short shot of some officials carrying what looks like bodies out of Vlada’s truck after he arrives in Belgrade. Whatever was in the truck leaves it smelling bad enough to force Vlada to clean it out.
As he’s come from Kosovo, they could have been Kosovan bodies murdered by Serbian troops trying to hide their atrocities from NATO. Or they could be the bodies of Serbians bombed by NATO. Whoever they are, their identities are not crucial as the load is a metaphor for the burden that Serbia and the Serbians must carry. They must always carry the weight of a country which has perpetrated extreme violence, and a country which has been bombed by the ‘western’ powers of NATO.
What to Watch Next?
If you’re looking for more films about the Yugoslav wars, check out Kosovan short film, Shok, told from the Kosovan point of view. It’s an equally unforgiving take on life during the Yugoslav wars.
Or, if you’re looking for a similarly cold looking wasteland, check out The Trader from Georgia (another short film). There’s also Mardan, another brutal depiction of life, this time in Kurdish Iraq.
Or if you’re looking for some more upbeat road trip films head to Latin America and check out:
- Y Tu Mamá Tambien: Alfonso Cuaron’s sensual Mexican road trip
- Motorcycle Diaries: to enjoy the Latin American road trip that formed Che Guevara
- Cuestion de Fe: to get to know Bolivia as two friends transport a saint across the country for a drug trafficker.
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