No Man's Land (2001)

EXCELLENT PRODUCT

I RECEIVED THE MOVIE RIGHT ON TIME, AND, UNLIKE OTHERS I HAVE ORDERED, IT IS IN GOOD SHAPE--DOESN'T SKIP OR GET BLURRED. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY TO ANYONE. JUDI ROGERS June 9, 2008

Careful

Though a good movie. There was nothing spectacular that grabbed me. A diffrent kind of storyline is whats good about this movie. It has a serious, yet humorous side to it. I was expecting a full blown drama. It is ok. But personally not a favorite. December 15, 2007

No Man's Land

This dark, satiric Serbo-Croatian film won the 2001 Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Built around the tense standoff between Chiki and Nino, we view their bizarre predicament not just as two enemies who must help each other to survive, but also through the eyes of impotent U.N. representatives on the scene, and, of course, the omnipresent media. By turns bleak, frightening, and funny, "No Man's Land" is an ingenious piece of work, as it delivers yet another new and original slant on war's futility. July 23, 2007

Balkans In A Nutshell

Directed by Danis Tanovic, and starring one of the most popular Bosnian actors, Branko Djuric, a veteran of Yugoslavian cinema Filip Sovagovic, and Rene Bitorajac, "No Man's Land" ("Nicija Zemlja") is a great insight not only into the war in Bosnia, but also into the irony of it, as well as into the typical ex-Yugoslavian form of cinema. Danis Tanovic truly showed the Balkans in a nutshell.

Two Bosnian Muslims and two Bosnian Serbs are caught in a trench between enemy lines - in no man's land. The area is off limits to all warring parties, meaning that neither party is prepared to officially investigate the matter. Enter the United Nations, popularly known in Bosnia as the Smurfs (due to blue helmets and the fact they had absolutely no power in Bosnia, in fact, they were the national laughing stock). Lulled by constantly being ignored and by constantly saying "no", the UN is confused as to what to do, especially as they come into a situation in which one of the occupants of the trench might die. Originally turning their back on the entire situation, one UN peacekeeper's morals force the higher-ups into dealing with the situation through the involvement of the international media.

Excellent in its entirety, the movie is comical and tragic at the same time, educational and frustrating, hopeful and without hope. The only critique I have is that Tanovic picked Sovagovic (a Croat) to play a veteran Serb, and Sovagovic's Croatian accent is unmistakable and out of place throughout.

I highly recommend this film to everyone, period. I will end with a great quote from the film - a French peacekeeper tells a British journalist:"Not doing anything IS taking sides." Enjoy the movie. April 14, 2007

Solid Four Stars

Worth seeing, no doubt. However, makes you wonder what a true genius like Akira Kurosawa would have done with such an original premise.
This director here misses having a masterpiece of a film on his hands by something like a hair.
Had the three main characters been better developed the audiance would have had more reason to
give a damn what happens to them. Alas, it didn't happen, although the script is pretty damn decent & works for the most part.

I have said the following so often in the past: give the audiance something/someone to care about--because if they don't kow much about the people in your film they will not be moved by what happens to them. Just the way it is.

Having said all that, I still maintain it is worth seeing. Branko Djuric is very good here.
Check it out. I wish I could have given it five stars. March 2, 2007

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