No Man's Land (2001)

Director:

Danis Tanovic

Writer:

Danis Tanovic (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 2001 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Plot:

Bosnia and Herzegovina during 1993 at the time of the heaviest fighting between the two warring sides. Two soldiers from opposing sides in the conflict, Nino and Ciki, become trapped in no man's land, whilst a third soldier is becomes a living booby trap.

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Trench | Serb | Mine | Booby Trap

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 26 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Branko Djuric	...	Ciki
Rene Bitorajac	...	Nino
Filip Sovagovic	...	Cera
Georges Siatidis	...	Marchand
Serge-Henri Valcke	...	Dubois
Sacha Kremer	...	Michel
Alain Eloy	...	Pierre
Mustafa Nadarevic	...	Old Serbian soldier
Bogdan Diklic	...	Serbian officer
Simon Callow	...	Soft
Katrin Cartlidge	...	Jane Livingstone
Tanja Ribic	...	Martha
Branko Zavrsan	...	Deminer
Djuro Utjesanovic	...	Bosnian guide
Mirza Tanovic	...	Bosnian officer

Also Known As:

Nicija zemlja (Bosnia and Herzegovina: Croatian title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

98 min | Turkey:90 min (TV version)

Country:

Bosnia and Herzegovina | Slovenia | Italy | France | UK | Belgium

Language:

English | French | Bosnian | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:All | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Slovenia

Company:

Noé Productions

Goofs:

Factual errors: Nino is hit with a rifle round from less than 10 meters distance in the lower abdomen. There is no exit wound on his back, and he seems - apart from pain - unhurt, can walk etc. While a round from an assault rifle in the lower abdomen may not kill instantly, it exits on the back, leaving great damage to the internal organs and probably the spine too, so that walking would not have been possible.

Quotes:

Jane Livingstone: Neutrality does not exist in the face of murder. Doing nothing to stop it is, in fact, choosing. It is not being neutral.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Njemo Kolo

Fallacy of War

This is probably the best film in its genre in the past 20 years or so. Hailed as the present-day Catch-22, the most attractive aspect of this film is that it doesn't have a clear-cut definition of the "good guys" and the "bad guys", so to speak. Most war films clearly identify the people whom the audience members are supposed to hate, and the people whom we are supposed to cheer for. This film, however, decides to take a different route. After all, one-sided films aren't very exciting because they're so predictable.

The soldiers are presented as being humans with complex emotions and personalities, rather than as symbols (i.e of good, or evil), as many Hollywood films tend to do. Yes, the Bosnian and the Serb wanted to kill each other, but we get to know them such that we cannot cheer for one, without cheering for the other.

At the same time, it is a satire on the idleness of bureaucracy, and those who are supposedly the protectors of civil society and the like. Add to the complexity some gawking journalists, and this film is an instant classic...at least in my mind. It could be the parable of our times.

9/10