!!!! SPOILERS !!!!

First things first , I doubt very much there`s any truth in this " True story " Producer of SAVIOR Oliver Stone also wrote the screenplay of MIDNIGHT EXPRESS and unlike the account of Billy Hayes book the film version is a work of complete fiction . Let`s see Joshua Rose wife and child are murdered by Islamic terrorists so he shoots up a mosque . Can any tell me when this incident happened ? because I don`t recall any news reports about it . And why did Peter join the legion ? Surely he acted in self defence ? It also seems strange that the Croat defence council ( HVO ) decided to drive their Serb and Muslim victims right beside Joshua`s hiding place to be massacared .

Despite this criticism SAVIOR is a good film . I remember disliking it first time I saw it because I`d written an unproduced screenplay set during the Balkans conflict called SOLITUDE which plays out totally different from SAVIOR even though my screenplay also involves western mercs and also having a subtext that there`s no good guys in the Bosnian conflict . Jealousy aside ( I had my heart on SOLITUDE winning the best original screenplay Oscar ) I do admire SAVIOR for being an intelligent , sad and haunting film . Despite having Oliver Stone as producer and an American star this is a totally European film in both feel and execution " I had a son . He`s dead . He had a son . He`s dead too . Both died fighting - For what ? " a Croat tells Joshua . What indeed

I wouldn`t say this is the best Bosnian conflict movie ( That accolade goes to PRETTY VILLAGE PRETTY FLAME ) but it`s probably the most accesible to a western audience . War is obscene and when you compare this movie to BEHIND ENEMY LINES you can`t help thinking that Hollywood is even more of an obscenity the way it portrays the Balkans conflict

Peace out