Could we see Luka and Sabaha as a modern-day Romeo and Juliet?
– In a sense, yes. When I made UNDERGROUND, Peter Handke was very enthusiastic about the movie and said it was trying to do the impossible, to combine the Marx Brothers and Shakespeare. After he saw LIFE IS A MIRACLE, he told me, ‘This time it’s much more Shakespeare.’ I would say that Luka, the hero, has certain Shakespearean dilemmas. He has a hostage, Sabaha, whom he falls in love with, even though he’s a guy who would never dream of holding somebody hostage. Anyway, somehow she becomes his hostage. The dilemma comes when he has to exchange her if he wants to get his son back. What does he do? He’s in love with her but he also loves his son. What happened during the war was Shakespearean, I would say, but I tried to make it more from my angle and that includes many aspects of life that are funny or ironic. Luka resists the idea that war is about to break out. – That is what happened to me. When the war started, I was in Paris. The first 40 days of war, I couldn’t believe… Maybe it
