You are here:

So Hot Was the Cannon

Name: So Hot Was the Cannon
Director: Slobodan Skerlić
Released: 2014
Duration: 119 min

Representation Score

7.5/10

Good

2014

Director

Slobodan Skerlić

Runtime

119 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film excels in its psychological depth, particularly regarding how trauma manifests as a physical disability. By centering a female caregiver in a violent landscape, it challenges traditional gender roles. The narrative also provides a sophisticated look at how systemic conflict erodes cultural and familial stability. However, the film lacks explicit representation for LGBTQ+ identities and maintains a relatively homogeneous cast. While the setting is ethnically complex, the character dynamics remain focused on shared regional suffering rather than diverse identity-based perspectives. Ultimately, the work is a gritty, realistic exploration of human resilience that prioritizes the deconstruction of social structures over identity-driven storytelling.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does So Hot Was the Cannon have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film does not include explicit LGBTQ+ identities or dynamics. Instead, it focuses on wartime trauma and a surrogate maternal bond.

How does So Hot Was the Cannon portray gender?

Fair

A female neighbor challenges traditional hierarchies by acting as a protector in a landscape stripped of patriarchal structures. Her character explores the limits of care under extreme duress.

How racially and ethnically diverse is So Hot Was the Cannon?

Fair

Set during the Siege of Sarajevo, the film reflects the ethnic complexities of the Bosnian War. It depicts a fractured, multi-ethnic urban environment dismantled by systemic violence.

How does So Hot Was the Cannon represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative challenges Western notions of heroism by portraying the protagonist's descent into violence as a response to trauma. Traditional institutions are viewed as fragile and easily corrupted.

Does So Hot Was the Cannon include disability representation?

Good

The protagonist's loss of speech is a central narrative driver. This disability is treated as a manifestation of systemic trauma rather than a mere device for pity.

Present on Screen

Sophisticated portrayal of disability as a direct result of systemic trauma.
Challenges traditional gender roles through a female protector figure.
Provides a nuanced critique of how war dismantles foundational social and cultural institutions.

Limited or Absent

Lack of explicit LGBTQ+ representation or non-straight character arcs.
Limited exploration of diverse racial or ethnic identities beyond the regional context.

Official Synopsis

A grenade fired from a nearby hill kills the parents of a ten year old boy during the siege of Sarajevo in 1992. The Boy looses his ability to speak. A lady neighbor adopts and takes care of him. The Boy is thrown out from his destroyed apartment and begins to prowl around the city with a schoolmate. Too early and too soon, he goes through the process of growing up. He learns the meanings of such words as force, death, sex. He learns how to achieve. He learns about the values. He learns what matters the most. The Lady neighbor that takes care of him tries to shelter him and protect him. Unsuccessfully. The Boy rides to fall. Death and suffering become more frequent, and more severe. When the Lady neighbor's teenage son is killed by a sniper as a collateral damage, she then rejects the Boy. The Boy escapes the siege, and shoots from a cannon at the city.Fifteen years later, the Boy - now twenty five - and the Lady neighbor meet again. They are united in pain and suffering.

How are these scores produced? →