The trap: causes, consequences, and mechanisms

¶ … Trap (Klopka)

In 2007, the Serbian film, the Trap (Klopka) was released. The film is directed by Srdan Golubovic. The protagonist of the film is Mladen Pavlovic, who is a father and husband. The film takes place in Serbia, after the war and fall of communism in the wartorn land. Mladen's family and his dedication to his family is at the center of the film's message. Life is hard, though manageable for Mladen, his wife, and primary school aged son. His wife, Marija, teaches English; their son, Nemanja, attends school during the days, while Mladen works in Belgrade, as a construction engineer for a state-owned company that is clearly falling apart and is in the midst or privatization. The state of the country with respect to economics, politics, crime, morality, poverty, and social tensions are prevalent and have a pervasive presence in the Trap. Every detail is significant and is used by the filmmakers as an intentional observation and criticism of the conditions in Serbia post-Milosevic.

After the family and characters have been established, the inciting incident occurs: Nemanja collapses during physical education class and is diagnosed with a heart condition that requires he receive delicate surgery as soon as possible -- surgery which will save his life, and of course, that his parents cannot afford. Among the numerous options or solutions Marija and Mladen consider and try in order to raise funds for the surgery, nothing really works: Mladen is summarily rejected for a loan by the bank from a grinning bank officer; subsequently, Marija places an ad in the local paper soliciting for donations for their son. A mysterious man, who identifies himself as a prominent Serbian who represents "those of us who love this country, who build and create," implying that in Serbia during this time, there were a number of people who committed heinous crimes and deeds under the guise of patriotism and a desire to rebuild the country to former or new glory. The man offers the family all the money they need to travel to Germany and complete the surgery on the condition that Mladen murder someone.

The film is dense with criticism of and illustration of modern Serbian society as the ravages of war have deteriorated the middle class and the country's sense of morality, though some economic development, albeit based in crime, has created a new class of nouveau riche. The director implies that integrity and morality have been sacrificed or lost as result of the war and the normalcy for the Serbian people has not yet been attained. The film shows how unstable the lives of average people are as well as how uncaring and unsympathetic those who are more financially stable are. The film clearly demonstrates the vast distance between the rich and poor with respect to material wealth as well as spiritual wealth. The rich in this film are spiritually poor and the poor are more spiritually rich, if not neurotic and exhausted by the stress endured because of poverty.