Blucher One of the worst movies I've ever seen

SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Stefan Progovac I'm just writing this review to point one thing out, the true story of Michael Nicholson (whom this movie is based off) involves him adopting and rescuing a Serbian girl named Natasha, not a Bosnian (Muslim) girl named Emira. Plenty of Serbian's themselves died in the siege of Sarajevo as we made up over 1/3 of the cities population. I'm not sure what the motive was behind switching the girl's ethnicity but I can only suspect that it was motivated by Hollywood's desire to uncomplicate a complicated mess as well as pander to public consensus that Serbs were the aggressors and the 'bad' guys while Bosniaks (Muslims) were the victims, 'good' guys.As far as the artistic merits of the movie herself, I liked how she interwove real footage with fiction, blurring the distinction. I also found it refreshing that such a marginal topic was brought to the big studios even though no one really watched. In the end though, the movie was okay, maybe even good but not great. The acting was fairly flat and the character development was mostly two dimensional. When the movie finishes, you forget about it.

j-lacerra This movie brought home to me the scope of the violent chaos in Bosnia, which I had pretty much ignored as a news story. It did not tell me who the various factions were. I learned little of the causes. But it brought into specific relief the horrors of this war and all those like it. When the movie finally settles down and we are familiar with the characters, then the story becomes personalized in one reporter's quest to save one little girl. And it is here that the movie shines.Stephen Dillane is good as the British reporter, trying to make a difference, even at the loss of his journalistic distance and impartiality. Woody Harrelson is spot-on as the wild American journalist. And little Emira Nusevic is excellent as the child in question.Marisa Tomei is very good in the tiny part of a relief worker. It is to her credit that she eschews any semblance of Hollywood glamor and handles his gritty little role perfectly.Why not 10 stars? Well, the first third of the picture is devoted to establishing the chaos and horrors of war, and in doing so leaves the viewer somewhat asea as to what is going on and who the players are, in terms of their relevance to the ultimate story.I think it is a 'must see'.

Chris Bright I think it's first important to understand what this film is not, and hence why so many of the critical comments here are wide of the mark. It's not the Hollywood melodrama the trailer almost inevitably suggests. It's certainly not an in-depth analysis of the causes of the Bosnian war. Probably what it's most about is the role of journalists, and the media generally, in a war zone.As an Englishman making a film about a foreign conflict I think Winterbottom's decision to focus on the (true) story of a British TV journalist was sensible - in the end Winterbottom's view can only ever be that of "Henderson" and in this way the film's integrity is maintained.It's easy to say that only someone with local knowledge can make a worthwhile film about this or any conflict, however I think mistaken. Obviously Serb apologists like the several posting here will prefer a film which makes their side look less bad; other parties to the conflict would presumably disagree (and it is notable that the Serbian residents of Sarajevo were not "ethnically cleansed" by the government there). Nicholson, on whose book the film was based, was in Sarajevo, undergoing the siege with the inhabitants. At the end of the day if a sniper is shooting children in front of you, you do not ask whether there may be some historical justification for their actions.Once these false expectations are dispensed with the film is surely excellent. As in his other work Winterbottom does not go in for Hollywood hand-holding or emotional manipulation; rather he aims at an Altmanesque ensemble piece with strong elements of black comedy and an open, improvisatory feel. Big stars are given only cameo roles and seem to be happy with that; certainly all the performances in the film are understated and unshowy, with the actors content to inhabit the characters and relate to each other instead of to the audience. As with Altman, we are expected to pay attention, to pick up clues and to think (and feel) for ourselves.Where the film may fall down is on the occasions when it does stray into outright comment. Winterbottom's politics, at least judging by this film, seem to be straightforwardly liberal - terrible things happened, our governments should have done more. Unfortunately as we have seen elsewhere, too often these genuine humanitarian impulses are cynically and selectively used by politicians to serve their own agendas. At the end of the day, Bosnia was of little economic value to the West, so intervention was resisted for as long as possible.Overall this film avoids a lot of easy traps and is a fine addition to Mr Winterbottom's growing body of challenging and inventive work.

njlionstorm I did not read "Welcome to Sarajevo" until a year after seeing the movie. Therefore, as I watched this film for the first time, I was under the impression that Risto (played by Goran Visnjic) was the lead character. Yes, I know the opening actors' credits listed Goran Visnjic fifth in line, but as the movie unfolded, it was evident that Risto had the ONLY fascinating character and story line. When a sniper killed Risto, I was in shock and actually thought the movie was over. Everything shown afterward seemed anticlimactic and inessential.I think "Welcome to Sarajevo" would have been better served if it had focused more on the Risto's life: a peaceful intellectual finally forced to take up a gun to defend his city. While the film does give us snippets about Risto's life and character, more could have (and should have) been done to portray the effects of the siege on it's inhabitants. That would have been covering new ground for a British or American film.There are numerous movies depicting American and British journalist's point of views in war torn countries. What I wanted to see was the BEFORE as well as the AFTER in individual lives of the different ethnic groups caught in the besieged city.How do I rate this flick? Well, only a 7, but I give a 10 for Mr. Visnjic's performance.