Review of No Man's Land (2001) by Ali Akbar F — 04 Jan 2010

You're looking for best foreign movies? Looking for drama? Maybe comedy? Well give No Man's Land a chance than because it has all that and more.

Depicting war here in my country has been a common practice since it has ended. Although it is a Bosnian movie I consider it "my own" as our countries are in a very tight relation.

This one is my favourite domestic war movie alongside "Kako je poèeo rat na mom otoku" or "How the War Started on my Island". Both are comedy/dramas but this one gained a lot more attention worldwide since it won an Oscar.

The story is placed in one trench where a Serbian and two Bosnian solidiers are trapped in a no man's land, in the middle of two enemy lines. They are enemies but have the same problem as their solidiers do not know who is in that nobody's trench.

Their interactions are made with so much depth and you can pratically feel the hate between them. Later on we are witnessing how emotions and opinions are changing the longer they stay trapped with each other. The comedy of this movie is also tragic.

It is directors idea to show the absurdity of war through mocking politicians, people "above", who control the war. Through showing how useless "Blue helmets" were in the warzone and most of all through bizarre situation in which main characters were.

As a child who survived the war I may be a bit subjective concerning themes like this but believe me when I say that this movie is worth seeing. My favourite quote from the movie was: "Ne, vi ste pacifisti. Srbija do Pacifika." it means: "No, you're pacifists. The Great Serbia,. all the way to the Pacific!". It is sad as much as it is funny and probably describes the whole war in short version.

Check this movie out, it won't disappoint you I'm sure.