On the Milky Road

In the midst of the Bosnian War, Kosta, a milkman and falconer, tends the milk from the farm run by Milena, who cares for her grandmother and longs to find a bride for her brother, Zaga. Hearing of a famed beauty who once drew the attention of an English general—who killed his wife to be with her, only to be rejected when she testified against him—Milena and her friends smuggle the bride, Nevesta, out of a refugee camp to live on the farm until Zaga returns.

As the war rages on, Kosta and Nevesta fall in love. When a fragile peace is declared, Kosta allows himself to be drawn into a complicated double wedding: he would marry Milena, while Zaga marries the bride, but during the revelry the couple almost kiss and are stopped by Milena.

Before the marriages can proceed, a spy betrays the bride’s whereabouts to the English. The English arrive, devastating the village and killing Zaga and Milena. Kosta is saved when a milk-fed snake he has been tending strikes at him on the road, delaying his arrival at the refugee camp. He manages to find the bride, who has escaped by hiding in a well, and together they flee across the countryside, pursued by three Englishmen.

Their chase carries them into a minefield. The bride is accidentally killed when she trips the wire of a mine. Kosta longs to join her in death, but a shepherd—Čobanin—urges him to stay alive so that the memory of their love can endure.

Fifteen years pass, and Kosta lives as a pious monk, still dreaming of reunion in the afterlife. Yet he spends his days dragging heavy rocks to the site of the bride’s death, slowly filling the minefield as a living tribute to their story.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:45