Storm

The prosecution of a Serbian war criminal in the World Court at The Hague unravels in the face of political expediency in this legal thriller with an international scope from director Hans-Christian Schmid. Kerry Fox stars as Hannah Maynard, a prosecutor brought in at the last minute to wrap up what seems to be a surefire case, only to discover that her chief witness, a Muslim named Alen (Kresimir Mikic), lied about what he saw—although he may be telling the truth about what happened. Hannah defies her hard-nosed boss (Stephen Dillane) while following her own instincts, eventually discovering that Alen was actually protecting his sister Mira (Anamaria Marinca), one of the victims of the accused. But Mira's story uncovers a whole new series of war crimes that the court would rather ignore. Storm tells a familiar tale of power being wielded to intimidate and backroom deals cut to circumvent the spotlight of justice, all set in the modern European Union, where the lines between judge, politician, businessman, and diplomat blur as countries negotiate for their place in the new order. Beneath the geopolitics, however, lies a strong undercurrent of sexual politics in which men secretly bargain without a thought to the women affected. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)