Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

kovacevica-21677 "In the Land of Blood and Honey" is a film directed by Angelina Jolie taking place in Bosnia during the war. It's about a Bosnian-Serb soldier named Danijel who is fighting for the Serb army, re-encountering Ajla, a Bosnian who is now captive in a camp he looks over. The once loving couple are now at a cross, as their motives and beliefs have changed since their situations. As a Bosnian, This film is absolutely horrible. It lacks realism in the sense that a Bosnian-Muslim woman would never fall in love with a Serbian soldier who pillaged and destroyed her way of life. The same goes vice-versa for Danijel. A Serb soldier who is full of propaganda and Serbian nationalism would never love a Bosnian-Muslim girl. If anything, he'd just see her as an object. Maybe even less. Ajla is also taken as a prisoner and stuck under supervision of Danijel. This is also a very flawed idea as Bosnian-Muslim women in those camps were stuck in tight spaces and used for rape. They were never protected by anyone especially their captors, Serb soldiers. The film captures a small stint of realism in how it portrayed the brutality of the Serbs. Such as a soldier barging in the apartment and throwing the baby off a balcony just because he could is indeed something the Serbs did to young Bosnian-Muslim children. Another accurate portrayal is when the Serb soldier bends the girl over and rapes her in front of everyone to humiliate her and get a kick out of it. These small acts of brutality is the only thing this film has done regarding historical accuracy, Anything other than that, is just BS hollywood writing. All around, "In the Land of Blood and Honey" is not a accurate, nor is it an entertaining film. I understand if the point of this was to appeal to western audiences. However, I'd rather use actual true stories from people who lived the war and use accurate information from them rather than idiotic, inaccurate Hollywood nonsense. Just because a film has a decent budget doesn't mean it's good. If there was anyone who'd ever want to know actual historical and accurate knowledge about the war in Bosnia through film, I'd strongly recommend "No Man's Land" and "Cirkus Columbia." These films are written and directed by people who have lived through the conflict and accurately portray what really happened in the country.

emily_contact If I could give this movie more than 10 stars, I would!Directing: There were a few cuts that could have been better explained, but the direction of the actors, the story, and the well filmed battle scenes were very good. Excellent job from an up-and- coming director like Angelina Jolie! You felt like you were actually in the room with the characters, and I constantly got lost within each character as I watched. The directing style reminded me a lot of "The Patience Stone", which is also a war movie centered around an innocent, civilian, Muslim woman. I noted when I had watched "The Patience Stone" that it had a very unique, never before seen vibe. This movie instantly struck me as being the same. The directing really pulled you in. Cast: Amazing! The choice of non-Hollywood actors who actually knew how to act well was just perfect. The casting itself couldn't have been better. They handled their script well, and fit into their roles perfectly.Story: Super interesting. The film is about an artist who comes from a partisan supporting family, thus has no or very little racial prejudices. The love interest/antagonist comes from a traditional, military serving background. Their personalities are stark opposites. But the "opposites" attract and complement idea really makes their relationship believable and enjoyable to watch. This film pulls you into the realities and human cost of war. It also deals with the subject that war is something that changes one's character (or brings it out), and that no side ever really wins. Of course you can win in the political sense-but ultimately every ordinary person pays a high price. It also touches on the issue that a person can be decent, but if they are born into the wrong side, there is no forgiveness or grace. War is not personal but collective, and yet at the same time carries a very personal price. The film surprised me as it had the characteristics of being several types of films at once. In the first third of the movie, it is a gut wrenching, keep you on the edge of your seat war movie. The middle is a love story destined for failure, the last third is a philosophical and psychological thriller. The last third of the movie leaves you with a lot of scenes where you're asking yourself, "huh?", but then it's the final scene of the movie that really tells you what this film was all about. It shows the ability of people who would have been "good" in a normal life to be war criminals--and how there is no escaping your fate once the cycle of generations has been set in motion. It also gives legitimacy for foreign intervention. There are some battles in life that are far greater than two people, and far greater than one generation. They cannot be resolved by leaving them to work it out. Cinematography: Again, really good. So there are a lot of critics of this movie-I can partially understand why.It's not a typical Hollywood movie, i.e. it's not supposed to hand you explanations on a plate or make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside towwards the end. And part of the critique's of this movie are probably because the protagonist is a Croatian Muslim. As a woman, and a foreigner who was completely removed and even a child during when the real war took place: I am able to completely set aside bias, and enjoy the movie for what it is. The bottom line is, regardless of who you support in a war, it is ultimately the women and children who pay a price. They are the true victims. In that sense, this film is not about Muslims vs. Christians: It is about all civilians who are victims of wars. Extra kudos for the lead character being a woman. I love war movies, but more often then not they are only told from the soldiers' point of view. Very rarely (in fact never), have I seen a war movie with a female protagonist. Besides this, I actually thought the film was well shot, had a great story, and overall was just a great movie. I love it that Angelina Jolie is actually taking her international experience and bringing it to the big screen. Any film that deals with the topic of war from the real-life standpoint is a movie that needs to be made in our life time. War is a terrible thing. A lot of wars happening are in parts of the world that people do not really understand. The inhumane treatment, rape and routine killing of civilians by soldiers is something underrated in common Western mindset.

Lasher820 For those of you who are wondering whether this is a good film or a bad film, you can't judge it that way. This is a fictional film about a very real situation that happened in the Croation / Serbian / Balkan Regions in the 90's. Most Americans know nothing of the horrors that went on during this time period because American Media and Popular World media gave it very little coverage at best, but mostly no coverage at all of what was really happening.This is about the genocide in the Bosnian / Serb War. It depicts many points of view, form a Muslim's POV to A Serb's POV and many POV's in between. Serbians feared that Muslims were taking over leadership and with the help of Propaganda fueled a hatred of Muslims in the region. It was very similar to what happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany. Neighbors and friends turned on each other. Lovers and Families were ripped apart. Women in captivity were raped and killed, children slaughtered; and the World pretty much ignored the whole situation.Angelina Jolie learned of the conflict and researched into it and was horrified by what happened and how it was not something the media seemed to care about. She wanted to tell a story to make people aware of it, but she wanted it to be true and heartfelt.The story revolves around a Muslim Woman and a conservative Serbian Army Commander and His Father and the conflict and it does jump around and give you different perspectives. It unflinchingly looks a rape of captive women in times of conflict. It's not your typical blockbuster action packed thrill ride, or your "chick flick" romantic type movie......it's an emotional roller coaster of love, hate, politics, religion, genocide, shame, guilt, pain and loss.If you find history boring or fictionalized stories interwoven with true events tedious, then you will hate this film. But if you are interested in something you may not know much about, this film is a great introduction and insight into the happenings during this war. It will most likely make you want to research more about it, dig at the truth and the aftermath. This movie is haunting and beautiful and disturbing and dark....it's not going to be everyone's idea of a good film, but in my opinion it was fantastic!

Radic-239-776598 I don't know why these movies are made. There is no message here. There is nothing to learn that already hasn't been figured out. The war is over. Bad things happened. In war, no sides are innocent. I do know that the people from that region are tired of these types of movies. They are tired of having the same stuff repeated over and over again in cheesy movies (fact or fiction). The relationships between the various countries are not bad currently and getting better each day. There are business relationships, family relationships, etc. between all parties. There are a lot of mixed marriages within the region. People there just want to forget about this part of history and move on. Everyone makes mistakes and there is nothing anyone can do about it in the present. Actually, there is something we can do about it. We can be better than we were. We can strive for better. But this type of movie doesn't support that. It tries to drum up feelings of hatred and anger all over again. There is no growth from it. It feels like you are pulled back 20 years or so. Honestly, I have seen movies that want to make you do better, feel better, act better on a daily basis. And, unfortunately, this isn't one of them.I wish "Hollywood" would make better films that can actually help people! The movie "Disconnect", for example, was excellent. It is relevant to the struggles of people currently. It relates to the problems of society nowadays that can actually be changed or mitigated in a way.Don't worry about watching this movie. Watch something that makes you want to do better! You will feel more fulfilled.