This dramatization of "the shot heard round the world," the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, turns the story into a police procedural with at its center an impeccably groomed detective who faces difficulties with the bosses, as is often true with the police procedural. This incorruptible outsider who rides a bike, not a carriage, and doesn't smoke, develops a theory of the assassination that doesn't entirely jibe with the historical reality, but which is very entertaining. Although ten young Serbs were stationed along the Archduque's path, Pfeffer, the hero, finds that they are actually tools of the German and Austrian military, who want to start a war with Serbia. You can imagine how well this goes over. I found myself skeptical, since I remember seeing the museum in Sarajevo glorifying Gavrilo Princip and the movement for Serbian independence. Nonetheless, the movie is beautifully made, with colorful costumes emerging from the shadows of all these conspiracy theories, beautiful horses, old buildings and lovely interiors. There is a romance between the Jewish Pfeffer and a beautiful married Serb heiress to make a change from assassination, torture, and execution. Recommended for lovers of historical costume dramas.
