本片开始回顾了一战时第一部反映巴尔干半岛的默片，内容是描述纺织女工生活的场景。主人公（哈威·凯特尔 Harvey Keitel 饰）是个希腊裔美国人，在经历战争洗礼后，他怀着感慨的心情重归故里，寻找电影开始的地方。他跟同伴讲述着曾经在这里度过的岁月，怀旧而伤感。特别是看 到教徒手持火把游行的情景，勾起了他对残酷战争的回忆。最后，他决心逃离。大雪漫天，他要了辆出租车，并答应送一位老人回家乡看看。然而，满目疮痍的战争废墟，让老人无家可归。汽车在雪地里抛锚，他只能登上了列车继续前行。在萨拉热窝，他在电影馆馆长的陪同下，寻找那部默片未果，却和馆长的女儿一见钟情。他高调地进入社交圈，却发现这里已经被前苏联的文化浸染，到处吟唱着喀秋莎的旋律。他曾目睹列宁的雕像被卸开，内心涌动着复杂的感情……
本片获得1995年戛纳电影节评委会大奖。

Madalena is a tough seventeen-year-old who is forced to take on her father's ferry business after he dies. She has her many brothers and sisters to support, and there is no one else to do the job. So she rallies her defenses and sets out to give her rival in the ferry business a run for his money. But at the same time, the rival's handsome son is starting to look better and better. Madalena refuses to acknowledge her feelings for him -- though how long she can sustain that denial is the question.

Against the backdrop of a cloudless summer, love's unforeseen complications will entwine an Athenian writer, a morosely beautiful daughter, and a scorned local suitor. And then, calamity strikes. Can love redeem the sad girl in black?