Life Is a Miracle

During the early 1990s Bosnian war, Luka, a gentle railway clerk, finds his ordinary life upended by war and by the sudden departure of his wife with a local musician. His world further tightens when his son is drafted and then disappears into the fighting. A rigid order lands in his lap: guard a young Muslim nurse who is to be part of a planned hostage exchange. The assignment drags him into a dangerous game of loyalties, danger, and the stubborn hope of keeping his family safe, all set against a landscape scarred by conflict.

Directed by Emir Kusturica and released in 2004, the film is based on Ranko Bozic's story, blending romance, comedy and tragedy in a way that bears Kusturica's distinctive Balkan sensibility. It uses lush, sometimes rustic visuals and a wry tone to thread personal stakes through a war torn setting.

Life Is a Miracle sits within Kusturica's patchwork of Balkan cinema, where humor softens hardship and personal resolve outshines catastrophe. While not a blockbuster, it helped shape discussions about wartime morality and the endurance of family bonds in a fractured region, inviting audiences to see courage in ordinary acts.

Audiences gave it a solid reception, rating about 7.2 out of 10 from 185 votes, signaling warmth for its unusual mix of romance, comedy and hardship. The story centers on loyalty, the fragility of family, and the moral weight of wartime decisions, asking how far a person will go to protect those they love when normal life is upended.

Box office figures are not publicly available, so there is no worldwide gross to report. The film carried a modest budget of about eight million dollars, with Emir Kusturica directing and Ranko Bozic credited as the story creator. Its festival showings and art house run helped cement Kusturica's reputation for blending spectacle with social commentary in post conflict settings.