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Angelina Jolie's Having Trouble Making Herself at Home in Sarajevo

Angelina Jolie may be one of the most beautiful and influential women in the world, but even she had a hard time convincing Bosnian officials to let her film in their country.

Angie recently started shooting her directorial debut, a love story between a Serbian man and a Bosnian woman that is set in Bosnia during the 1992-95 Bosnian War. But she's not actually filming in Bosnia. Instead most of the movie is being made in Budapest, with only a few weeks of filming planned to take place in Sarajevo next month.

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Bright Bosnian Future?

It's become a well established rule of travel writing these days that formerly war-torn countries are the new hotness. Forget Cambodia--for quality ethnic strife, choose the Balkans. With that in mind, Sarajevo gets the full treatment in the New York Times Travel section.

The article itself is remarkably restrained, and forgoes any mentions of fusion cuisine. It gives turbofolk (one of its biggest stars, Ceca, is pictured above) too much credit for a deeper meaning. Turbofolk is considered a musical scourge of the entire region, cobbling together two genres that are meant to be kept as far apart as possible.

Sarajevo is doubtless a fascinating place, but it may be too soon for the glossy treatment, even in an article evaluating the damage wrought by war in relation to the tourist industry. Croatia is so popular because all those islands and beaches are essentially history free. How many tourists are genuinely ready for the complete Balkan experience?

Related Stories:
·   Going Out in Sarajevo [Gridskipper]
·   Sarajevo Reclaims its Lost Innocence [NYT]