Ivan Ramljak rescues from oblivion the figure of Josip Reihl-Kir, chief of police in Osijek at the outset of the Balkan War. In the early 1990s, in the region of Eastern Slavonia, relations between the Croat majority and the Serb minority deteriorated to a critical point. Many considered the outbreak of armed conflict inevitable, but Reihl-Kir refused to accept such a fatal outcome. He insisted on mediating, fostering dialogue, and slowing the escalation at a time when almost everyone else was choosing sides.
The documentary does not aim to unravel conspiracy theories or point fingers at the direct instigators of Reihl-Kir’s assassination, which took place on July 1, 1991, during a journey to peace negotiations. In broad daylight and before witnesses, a Croatian paratrooper opened fire on the car carrying the police chief, other officials, and a representative of the Serb community. Only one of them survived. That crime marked the symbolic beginning of a wave of violence that would soon become unstoppable. Ramljak builds his film as a posthumous monument to one of the last defenders of coexistence in a territory where, even today, some perpetrators of atrocities are celebrated as heroes. He uses a valuable archive of early 1990s footage, much of it previously unseen, and interweaves it with current testimonies from people who experienced the events firsthand. Their voice-over accounts reveal a climate of fear and nationalist fanaticism that slowly normalized the unthinkable.
There is no glorification in the portrayal of the protagonist. Reihl-Kir is shown as an ordinary man with a profound sense of public duty. He did not belong to either of the two major national groups in conflict, which gave him a unique perspective and perhaps a diplomatic advantage. He understood that his efforts put him in the crosshairs of extremists on both sides, but he accepted the risk, convinced that war could still be prevented.
The film also challenges the dominant narrative in Croatian society, which tends to divide recent history into absolute victims and absolute aggressors. Within that dichotomy, military leaders are celebrated, while those who advocated dialogue are pushed into footnotes. Peacemaker breaks that silence and vindicates the memory of those who tried to avert tragedy.
The result is a work that combines historical rigor with dramatic tension. Through precise editing, scenes of everyday life before the catastrophe sit alongside signs of the storm to come. Every image conveys the feeling that time is running out. Ramljak urges the viewer to confront how the horror was allowed to take shape, and to recognize the courage of those like Reihl-Kir, who stood for peace when almost no one wanted to listen. His legacy reminds us that peace is rarely a matter of chance: it depends on determined individuals willing to defend it in the darkest moments.
