Inside Story

A story of British mercenaries. The bloody Yugoslavian civil war has become a magnet for many men attracted to violence. "I've always wanted to kill legally.
I've always wondered what was going through the Yorkshire Ripper's mind. He had no compassion, no feeling. I want this state, it's like higher than any drug," says Dave, a British mercenary there.
The UN-sponsored cease-fire has failed to bring peace to what was Yugoslavia. Already, 10,000 lives have been lost. Bosnia-Herzegovina is descending into full-scale civil war. This film provides a close, disturbing and frank insight into the minds of a group of British mercenaries licensed to kill for another country's cause. It is the story of Kit, Carl, Dave and Andy, all members of the only English-speaking company in the Croatian Army, based in Osijek, Croatia's eastern capital, which at present is under daily artillery bombardment. Tensions are high as the men prepare for dangerous sabotage operations behind enemy lines. Kit, the chief training officer, a big, tough, Geordie ex-paratrooper and French Legionnaire, leads these operations while being paid little more than E 100 a month. Not all the mercenaries are prepared to obey orders, and some resent having non-professionals in charge.
Allowed rare access to British mercenaries at work, the film presents a powerful insight into the mercenary myth and the realities of soldiering.