Rating: 
Summary: The War of Theirs
Review: Undoubtfully war is hell, but it seems that people need to be reminded of it all the time. This 'No Man's Land' is a great reminder. Having almost a documentary approach the film shows a couple of hours in the lives of two soldiers one Bosnian and another Serbian who happen to be caught in the same trench where another soldier lies on a mine that may be detonated by any move of his. Later on, two more forces will be added: the UN and the Press, giving a new breath to the movie. I won't give more about this film, because doing it would mean take the 'pleausure' of those who haven't seen it yet. More than clarifying, the film rises questions that expect to be answered by the audience. For instance, early in the movie, the two soldires argue which nation has started the war, blaming each other's country. Another insteresting point mentioned in the film that is hardly ever showed in the movies is the UN role in wars. The script is very well balanced, once it shows both sides of its work, there are soldiers who really want to help and do something to make the war over-- like Marchand --, but, on the other hand, some people only want publicity and play political games. Another thing is the difficulties that UN faces in order to at least try to help people, for instance, the communication is extremely hard, due to the fact that there are people from many places in the world and many of them can't even understand English, mainly the soldiers. Some people complain that the screenplay is very clichèd when it comes to the press, but I don't think so. It loosely reminded me of "Three Kings" -- which by the way is a terrific movie. I think the press is shown the way it is. They are desperate for breaking news; the reporters are dying for discoverying something brand new and exclusive, but it is hard, once everybody is covering the same war. The press looks inquisitive and it can be helpful sometimes, once one knows how to use them, see Marchand using a reporter to pressure his superiors to allow him to help the three soldiers. The cast is very good. The native actors delivery extremely fine. I don't know if they've been to the war but they look as if they've been on the front for a long time. Seeing Katrin Cartlidge's face in the middle of all those people seemed like finding a friend in a hostile place. She is so fine as reporter that we root for her being able to telecast everthing without being censured by UN. But the one I liked most was the French actor Georges Siatidis -- who plays Marchand. We can easily see why he joined UN and how frustrated he is because he cannot help the soldiers, once his superiors forbide him of doing so. Most of the time he gives just one look and you can see all he means. All in all, in this time of wars everywhere this film is very helpful. I don't think it is a kind of film for everybody, but it is, certainly, recomended for those who care about serious issues that may affect the world as a whole. The writer director Danis Tanovic deliveries a very disturbing and realistic film, showing that sometimes there are no solutions -- or help -- at all, and the only thing that can be done is avoiding start a new war.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid Anti-War Movie
Review: Anybody still put off by the old "it's a foreign movie, I can't read subtitles," should shut their mouths and watch this movie. It's worth all the horrible "sacrifices" that American audiences have to endure to watch foreign cinema. No Man's Land tells the story of two soldiers, one a Serb, one a Bosnian, during the civil war. In the backround is the whole international political scene, which is skewered and parodied constantly. It's definitly justifiable criticism, as students of recent history recognize it as one of Europe's greatest follies and the UN's worst performance. While Euro politicians and UN commanders sat back, afraid to take any initiative, thousands of civilians on both sides were being slaughtered, whole cities turned into warzones. The microcosm in the story of the two soldiers, trapped together in the middle of No Man's Land. A third is trapped atop a mine. The soldiers hatred for each other is tragic, as their situation is so desparate that cooperation is the only sensible reaction. Sense is dead in Bosnia. The ending is a tragic culmination of both bureaucratic incompetance and vitruolic hatred that never ends except in death. The folly of war, done very very well.
Rating:
Summary: Three Men and a Buried Mine in a Trench
Review: "No Man's Land," starring Branko Djuric as Ciki (pronounced Tcheeky) and Rene Bitorajac as Nino shows the pragmatics of war. These two men represent each side of the Serbian-Bosnian conflict. Both are convinced that the other side started it, and later, both are convinced the other side is bombing them directly. Both learn of the injustices done in the name of war done by their own side. The tension of the story is not the war, but the survival of three men, Ciki, Nino, and Cera (pronounced Tsera, played by Filip Sovagovic). Ciki, a Bosnian, and Nino, a Serb, end up in a foxhole. Neither wants to be there, and both need the other to get out alive. They don't care about the other, even as they find some common ground like a former lover they each had. The war and its wage of death is the vault between them truly acknowledging the other's humanity, but they lean on each other awkwardly, but effectively to persuade the UN to save them, and Cera, also a Bosnian. The trouble is that Cera lays upon a mine that will detonate when he moves. Naturally, then, he stays still. The fear of the mine blowing up provides the need for them to work toward a solution. With no obvious fix, they attract the UN, who are a mix of competent and incompetent, passive and intentional leaders. The UN's indecisiveness jeopardizes the soldiers, and their philosophical unwillingness to resolve the problem only exacerbates the anger between the soldiers. It carefully stands away from the divisive, bitter fight, indicating that the both sides aren't pure in motivation. Each character is so far removed from whatever started the conflict, that any ending becomes a tragedy. There are two sides to any war: those who are governing it, and those who are fighting in it. Within that war, among those fighting in it, are two more sides: those who believe in the fight, and those conscripted to be there. All are part of this movie. "No Man's Land" shows that the Big Muddy, as Pete Seeger once sang of WWII, is not just in 1942 or Vietnam. In the trenches, as a force of war's reality, evil occurs. It is the default of war that men are asked to kill, and it is the default of man that the living will die. I fully recommend "No Man's Land." For a look at a similarly powerful movie about the Irish conflict, see Daniel Day-Lewis and Emma Thompson in 1994's "In the Name of the Father." Anthony Trendl
Rating:
Summary: Great satire on the absurdities of war
Review: This movie is a great satire about the absurdity of the Yugoslavian conflict, in particular the happenings in Bosnia. What I like about this film is Danis Tanovic's unwillingness to make any of his characters likable. The soldiers trapped in the trench are portrayed as steeped in illogical hatred. The reporters are shown as jackals. UNPROFOR is cast as ineffectual or flat-out stupid. The only character you can really root for is Marchand (a U.N. 'Smurf' sick of sitting on the sidelines). The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because I really thought "Amelie" (against which 'NML' competed for the 2001 'Best Foreign Film' Oscar) was the superior film. Yes, I know the genres are totally different. Too bad the MPAA doesn't go the Golden Globe route and give a comedy a chance against a brilliant 'message movie' like "No Man's Land."
Rating:
Summary: Great War Movie
Review: "No Man's Land" is a great movie that deals with the Bosnian War. It has many unique scenes that give the audience more enjoyment to watch. The storyline was wonderfully written. It blends multiple stories into one movie. This is highly difficult considering most of it explores trying to rescue a soldier from a mine that'll detinate if he moves. The acting is great. The gun shootouts scenes, they express their characters' life threateneng terror realistic looking. The environment (the set) looks as if an actual war is breaking, which is good. Such wonderful efforts deserved the Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film(spoken mostly in sebro-croatian). It later won. "No Man's Land" is a great movie for those looking for action and drama. Such substance will keep everyone entertained.
Rating:
Summary: Three Men and a Buried Mine in a Trench
Review: "No Man's Land," starring Branko Djuric as Ciki (pronounced Tcheeky) and Rene Bitorajac as Nino shows the pragmatics of war. These two men represent each side of the Serbian-Bosnian conflict. Both are convinced that the other side started it, and later, both are convinced the other side is bombing them directly. Both learn of the injustices done in the name of war done by their own side. The tension of the story is not the war, but the survival of three men, Ciki, Nino, and Cera (pronounced Tsera, played by Filip Sovagovic). Ciki, a Bosnian, and Nino, a Serb, end up in a foxhole. Neither wants to be there, and both need the other to get out alive. They don't care about the other, even as they find some common ground like a former lover they each had. The war and its wage of death is the vault between them truly acknowledging the other's humanity, but they lean on each other awkwardly, but effectively to persuade the UN to save them, and Cera, also a Bosnian. The trouble is that Cera lays upon a mine that will detonate when he moves. Naturally, then, he stays still. The fear of the mine blowing up provides the need for them to work toward a solution. With no obvious fix, they attract the UN, who are a mix of competent and incompetent, passive and intentional leaders. The UN's indecisiveness jeopardizes the soldiers, and their philosophical unwillingness to resolve the problem only exacerbates the anger between the soldiers. It carefully stands away from the divisive, bitter fight, indicating that the both sides aren't pure in motivation. Each character is so far removed from whatever started the conflict, that any ending becomes a tragedy. There are two sides to any war: those who are governing it, and those who are fighting in it. Within that war, among those fighting in it, are two more sides: those who believe in the fight, and those conscripted to be there. All are part of this movie. "No Man's Land" shows that the Big Muddy, as Pete Seeger once sang of WWII, is not just in 1942 or Vietnam. In the trenches, as a force of war's reality, evil occurs. It is the default of war that men are asked to kill, and it is the default of man that the living will die. I fully recommend "No Man's Land." For a look at a similarly powerful movie about the Irish conflict, see Daniel Day-Lewis and Emma Thompson in 1994's "In the Name of the Father." Anthony Trendl
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking
Review: This was an extremley disturbing movie but a brilliant work. It took a week for me to get over the movie. This was the oscar winner when an indian film called Lagaan was nominated, and i wondered what could be better than a brilliantly made film like Lagaan. But after watching No mans Land, i think Lagaan really did not have even the slightest chance of winning the covetted oscars Watch it people, it taught me to be more humble and humane in life
Rating:
Summary: Watch it if you can
Review: Shot in a sort of "reality TV" way, the movie takes you through what seems to be a simple enough situation - 3 men caught in the dividing line between 2 warring sides and need people to rescue them. The ensuing chaos and confusion results, after the UN had to be called in to resolve this issue... one of the men had been laid onto a booby trap which will detonate if he moves, which complicates things even further. The news reporters representing the big news networks around the world are portrayed as anything but angels, so are the UN peacekeepers who are supposedly stationed there to keep peace. There aren't special effects in this movie, a number of shoot-them-up scenes but witty dialogue, a great script and convincing acting dominated the whole movie. It may not be as politically correct as some people would have preferred, but it is a valid perspective anyway, depending on whose side you're with. This movie is based on the real-life Balkan war that happened not so long ago. The length of the movie (it seemed to have taken almost 2.5 or 3 hours to watch) is probably why I took off a star for this review.... a storyline as this, although supported by great dialogue and acting, shouldn't have taken so long to finish... Still, it was funny, entertaining, and serious at the same time. Definitely worth watching!
Rating:
Summary: "By the way, who started the war...?"
Review: "No Man's Land" is a triumphant and dark satire with raw power that is both undeniable and mesmerizing. And that says a lot, being that I'm not the biggest fan of foreign films. The film is funny and tragic at the same time. Very rarely can you come across a decent movie that can successfully combine drama with comedy, let alone finding one that is superb. "No Man's Land" is indeed superb on all levels. The film takes place during the horrific Bosnian-Serb conflict. In a strange turn-of-events, a Bosnian soldier ends up being trapped with a Serbian soldier in a trench (a wounded comrade of the Bosnian soldier is also in the trench). Both the Bosnian and Serbian sides refuse to help the two, so it's up to the UN to try to come up with a reasonable solution. Now, that would sound like a great idea, except the UN is portrayed as being extremely lazy and incompetent. While in the trench, the two armed soldiers have nothing to do but to wait for help... that is, if they don't kill each other first. This is a unique film that is fresh and daring. Not a single boring minute went by during my whole viewing of the movie. It's tragic, and yet comical. The movie is able to work on every emotion, which is something that is very hard for a film to do successfully. While it is indeed a satire, the film does a good job of setting up the stage for the Bosnian-Serb conflict and gives us an idea of what was happening during that time. It's a film that will make you want to learn more about the conflict, which is something I highly recommend. After you read more about it, then watch the movie again and I guarantee you that you'll enjoy it a lot more the second time around. The DVD is pretty standard, offering very little special features. The picture quality is crystal clear and the sound is great. The movie offers English, French and Spanish subtitles. Don't let the subtitles scare you, as they are extremely easy to read and follow. It's also easy to tell what's going on without reading too much into it. The only special feature available, aside from the subtitles, is the original theatrical trailer. "No Man's Land" is an unforgettable experience that portrays a dark time in history. It is comical and sad at the same time. For somebody who isn't the biggest fan of foreign films, I must admit that I loved this movie. An interesting viewing, if you ask me.
Rating:
Summary: Great War Movie
Review: "No Man's Land" is a great movie that deals with the Bosnian War. It has many unique scenes that give the audience more enjoyment to watch. The storyline was wonderfully written. It blends multiple stories into one movie. This is highly difficult considering most of it explores trying to rescue a soldier from a mine that'll detinate if he moves. The acting is great. The gun shootouts scenes, they express their characters' life threateneng terror realistic looking. The environment (the set) looks as if an actual war is breaking, which is good. Such wonderful efforts deserved the Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film(spoken mostly in sebro-croatian). It later won. "No Man's Land" is a great movie for those looking for action and drama. Such substance will keep everyone entertained.
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