No Man's Land Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
After various skirmishes, two wounded soldiers, one Bosnian and one Serb, confront each other in a trench in the no man's land between their lines. They wait for dark, trading insults and even finding some common ground; sometimes one has the gun, sometimes the other, sometimes both. Things get complicated when another wounded Bosnian comes to, but can't move because a bouncing mine is beneath him. The two men cooperate to wave white flags, their lines call the UN (whose high command tries not to help), an English reporter shows up, a French sergeant shows courage, and the three men in no man's land may or may not find a way to all get along.
| 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 |
| Danis Tanovic |
8.00 out of 10 (12132 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Not quite Oscar worthy, but still very good.
posted on 29 Jul 2009The story of the Bosnian conflict reduced to a small scale won the Oscar a few years back. I'm not sure that was because it was the best choice or because the film touch the current nerve in Hollywood.Basically its the story of three men fighting, literally in the trenches of Bosnia. Its a very funny and touching tale, that unfortunately is also clichéd. Its not so much clichéd in whats done, although there is some of that, rather its in the fact that the tried and true "war is bad" cards are used to lessen the effect. Sending up even the media and the peacekeepers no one is spared in this obvious attack on a very wrong situation that has left too many people dead in the cross fire. Yes, the film is worth seeing, its a very good story, however had it not won the Oscar no one would have been talking about it three weeks after the ceremony.7 out of 10. A watcher, not a keeper.
simple, beautiful and meaningful.
posted on 21 Jul 2009I saw this film while i was doing my military service about a year ago, we thought it might be a cool action moral boosting film to help us through another weeks military exercises. It turned out to be so much more. A simple yet thought-provoking film about two enemies, with no real differences, who hate each other, for no reason.One thing about this film that struck my "I-like-nerve" is the almost total lack of emotional "jibberjabber" that is dominating the film industry today, its not about one hundred thing at the same time, its about three persons, their unbelievable situation, and the inevitable end.Buy or rent this film, watch it and think.
Where's the Amerikaners?
posted on 19 Jul 2009The Concept: 'All Quiet' meets 'Three Kings' with 'Kelly's Heroes'This is your only spoiler warning...It's always interesting to see how other countries try adopting Hollywood themes with their own nationalism. In the case of 'Run Lola', it succeeds because the MTV style is only a frame. Unfortunately, 'No Man's Land' makes the style its focus. Since we've seen this style before on better movies (where 'Lola' had the edge), it doesn't last with us.The subtexts don't create a major stir when superficially examined. Two enemies stuck in a trench because of either side fighting for reasons no bigger than simple vendetta. Doesn't sound that great, does it? The two men arguing harkens to 'Conan' and the spawning of conflict-obsession, but it's as sophisticated as 'Batman'.What makes this interesting? The absence of Amerikaners. If this was a true Hollywood or made-for-TV production (especially under Bruckheimer), there would be a plethora of American imagery. 'Behind Enemy Lines' and 'Hunted' tried this, no wonder they failed. Here the Bosnian wears a Rolling Stone t-shirt, the peacekeepers are French, and the journalists are British.So, when putting things in non-American context, this suddenly becomes interesting despite a script that lacks sound.Final Analysis = = Midrange Material
"Comic drama" about the eternal tragedy of war,
posted on 15 Jul 2009Good film about the huge lack of communication that all kinds of war entails. Great characters, from courageous Sgt Marchand to a killable US commander aptly called "Soft". Marchand "I may be mad, but not stupid" (!). Jane Livingstone was a great "hysterical reporter". While definitely not working for any cause but her own, she was perky enough to get her job done, and through the story one comes to realize she does hold on to some principles. Of course "Nino", desperately wanting approval in a handshake, even from a Bosnian :). And the punctual German "démineur", specially his face when he's got to go back to the trench and act as if he worked :). So the matter-of-fact ways of "Cera". When I originally saw this film I didn't like it much. Maybe the topic came by me as an "Oscar grabber", maybe "Ciki" was a bit too much of a "hero" to be honest. I like the fact that Tanovic managed to include good "comedy" amidst this drama. Like the ineptitude of both sides, the hopeless way the French tried everybody to speak French :), the roughness of a fat Serb official & crew, and Simon Callow's pompous Brit accent and nice "assistant". And Cera's description of his situation. Ironical, very "Balkanic" indeed...Jeffrey Leach (Omaha) on Amazon shows what a good reviewer can do. I am glad Amazon selects his "spotlight reviews" so well! Just one phrase sums it all: "The film also transcends the peculiarities of the region to make a statement about the absurdities of war in the age of mass media". Same goes for Linda Linguvic (New York City)'s first paragraph.I agree with "Coventry" on IMDb that it having won over the stupid "Amélie" shows the Oscars are sometimes given to good movies. Well, then they gave everything to LOTR, so they ruined everything, but at least in the valuable "Foreign film" you will always get quality over marketing. Too with his "Tanovic succeeds in bringing what so many other directors desperately attempt and fail". And "little ingenious findings and subtle sarcasm".I'd like to close this review with the valuable words of "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". Much like this famous phrase quoted in the end of "Tears of the sun": as English philosopher Edmund Burke said, 'The only thing necessary for the triumph -of evil- is for good men to do nothing.'Sleep well.
Great Movie
posted on 23 Jun 2009A story about two soldiers in a trench between enemy lines during the Bosnian war. I was amazed to discover that not only is the film beautiful to look at, it was shot by the Belgian photographer Walther Vanden Ende, but also contains some strong characters to divert us from the lack of action. The screenplay for the film is overwhelming and establishing several conflicts in a confined space early in the film. And it uses the conflicts to drive forward a collection of other subplots at different locations. Great movie!
Unbiased and superb.
posted on 15 Jun 2009This is one of the few films in context with the Yugoslav civil war of the 90's I have seen that does not really present anyone as the true "bad guy", which from my knowledge is rare. Moreover, the film is a characterization of the conflict (and many Yugoslavians) in terms of its symbolism through the conversations between the two main characters and the role of the UN. Despite the comic scenes, the film masks the sadness of the situation and is thus lighter to watch than many other war movies. Though the film is in context with the recent Yugoslav civil war, not much background knowledge of this conflict is needed (if any) to enjoy and understand it. Thus, the uniqueness of this film and the fact that it can appeal to many is what makes it truly superb. I recommend it.
This Won An Oscar ?
posted on 26 May 2009Having written a script in 1996 called SOLITUDE set in Bosnia in the early 1990s I`ve been interested in seeing how the Balkans conflict is featured in movies and I was really looking forward to seeing NO MANS LAND a multi national production that became the first movie featuring the Balkans conflict to win an Oscar . However I was very disappointed in itThe movie gets of to a fairly effective opening and features some excellent cinematography as night turns into morning . There`s also a scene early in the movie that steals directly from PLATOON with a hardened veteran going through a raw recruits kit saying " You don`t need that , dump this ..." so my hopes were built up that this was going to be a compelling piece of cinema but when the movie concentrates on the story proper of having two men ( Or three depending how you look at it ) in a trench it doesn`t really go anywhere , instead it just concentrates on insults like :" You started this war you Serb pig " " No you started this war you Muslim dog " There`s little information on the history of the Bosnian civil war to be gathered from from these exchanges , there`s little drama to these exchanges and to be blunt when watching NO MANS LAND it doesn`t actually feel like you`re experiencing cinema since you could easily adapt this screenplay for the stage with very little modification . Another thing was I couldn`t believe in the characters as anything more than litery devices , Simon Callow`s caricture as a UN Protection Force officer especially bordered on the offensive with the only performance and role that anyway resembled a real person being the late Katrin Cartlidge as Jane Livingstone , a journalist who seems to be implicitly based on The Guardian`s Maggie O`Kane NO MANS LAND isn`t the worst movie to have used the Balkans conflict as a backdrop , that unwanted accolade must surely go to BEHIND ENEMY LINES but it`s far from being the best either , in my humble opinion PRETTY VILLAGE , PRETTY FLAME is the clear winner
Fiction, but at least it lets us make a stab at understanding the Bosnian war
posted on 18 May 2009I suppose it deserved it's Oscar for Best Foreign Film although I reckon there was some sympathy voting going on as well. A Bosnian conflict story that exposes the `UN Peacekeeping Force' for the window-dressing that it may well be in real life. Convincing battle stuff with mines and gun wounds that are quite chilling in their close-to-home feel, and the main characters maintaining the senseless enmity that seems so hard to understand from a distance of a Western country that is not torn apart by war. The value of a film like this is perhaps it gives us a tool with which to try and visualise real and rather horrible recent events.
A Just War?
posted on 24 Apr 2009War is absurd in this gripping film that can amuse, sadden and horrify anyone with an ounce of humanity. You might say that you have to be there to really appreciate the irony. I say I'm happy I'm not! The tension is enormous as both sides try to negotiate escape. Intervention by the UN peacekeepers is as senseless as a US congressman on an Enron investigation hearing. The humanity of both men is just below the surface preventing their ethnic animosity from taking its course. Any loud, jarring noise threatens survival leaving the audience wondering if there is a solution to this conflict. Or is it more humane to let the two sides settle it in a fair fight.Do you walk away with the feeling that this is 'a just war'? No - it's just a war. And war is hell.See this one for yourself and email me.
Good journeyman war satire slightly over-touted with some plotholes.
posted on 21 Mar 2009"No Man's Land" is a satirical representation of the futility of the Bosnian/Serb conflict which uses one incident, a living man in a trench booby-trapped with a land mine, to show how the people involved, from foot soldiers to media to UN peace-keepeers to the chain of command, all fail to succeed when hatreds run deep. In other words, the film shows what a freakin "clusterf**k" the war was. Somewhat over touted, this journeyman flick which wanders in the void between comedy and drama will be most enjoyed by those into war flicks.
A great movie
posted on 07 Mar 2009No man's land is a great movie and the Oscar this movie won as best foreign language film is totally deserved.The story is totally unpredictable on its development.The film has great messages about the war,its motives and its consequences.Another excellent element is the sense of humor this film has.The performances are great and the spectator can identify with the characters.The direction is perfect and it manages all the elements to produce emotions on the spectator.Without big solemnity,No man's land transmits perfectly the messages to the spectator.A great movie against war which tells a very fun story and with greatly developed characters.
Why I didn't enjoy it.
posted on 03 Mar 2009This movie, although acclaimed by many, failes to make any impression of me. Aside all the implications of war, even civil war, I never understood any message between the lines. I think I got impressed by movies like "Underground" and expected more black humor or bitter critics, but I got neither. In general, the movie is a good realization, good fotography and average acting. The situation might be one to often depicted but no well resolved for my taste. All in all I ended dissatisacted with the movie.
A Paths of Glory for the Serbian war
posted on 21 Feb 2009With just a few characters and very few moments of shooting or battle, No Man's Land depicts the human toll caused by war. It's not just lives that are lost, but truly our humanity. The struggle is represented by two soldiers trapped between lines desperate to return to their respective sides. At times they are civil to one another, but the history of conflict continues to get between them. Governmental and bureaucratic forces work only to further dehumanize the individuals, even when operating with good intentions. The main theme would have to be the need for the individual to do the right thing, and it's final shot is an inspired and haunting image.
Of the films I've seen lately, this is by far one of the best.
A No-Win Situation
posted on 02 Jan 2009Three soldiers one Serb and two Bosnians are caught up in a countryside trench in no man's land between Serbian and Croatian lines, while the UN unwillingly gets involved in the situation because of media pressure.This film is a critical satire of the meaningless of war and on how no one wants to get involved- but actually sit back (the UN) and watch or actually film the carnage (the media). It depicts the bleakness of the war, the UN's involvement and the intruding media presentation of it in black humour and sharp sarcasm, while still the suspense and the humanity of the situation doesn't get discarded- but makes it more fascinating and quite constructive.The intelligent script and story are very fresh in portraying the madness of war and also building up the tension that never falters, as we see how much the two countries hate each other, with the soldiers continuously blaming each other for the war and the stupidity of the situation that they are in. It was definitely an unpredictable and confronting war story that didn't try to manipulate the circumstances for a change- but actually draws you into the mess.The thing is at first you don't feel any for sorrow for the soldiers separately, as they are no worse than each other- but then after while we come to know them in detail and see their point of view. The main hatred you feel is towards the UN Leaders, as they sit back, unwilling to budge, while their soldiers sit around wanting to help... you would know what I mean especially at the end of the film, as the ending really does pack a punch and makes you question humanity.Not only the UN's priorities and methods are questioned- but also the artful and shallow media that see this as good news scoop then actually coming across as caring for the welfare of the soldiers. There's one quote that provides that point from a news reporter that declines to film the bunker and explains that when you've seen one bunker, you've seen them all… which is pretty ironic, well you'll what I mean when you see it.The performances are impressive and truly absorbing from the three soldiers caught in this mess: Branko Djuric as Ciki, Rene Bitorajac as Nino and Filip Sovagovic as Cera . This film reminded very much of 'Three Kings' in the humour side of things, but also the grief you feel for those involved in the war- but 'No man's land' is far more involving and far less buoyant than 'Three Kings'.What you get is a solid anti-war film that keeps you gripped to the end and when it finishes, it definitely leaves you pondering.
a microcosm of the Balkan Conflict
posted on 07 Dec 2008"No Man's Land" appears to be a microcosm of the 1992-1995 Balkan conflict. There are many interesting, subtle hints at this--Cera lying on top of the live mine for instance seems to represent the Yugoslavia as it was after the fall of Communism, a bomb that will go off at the slightest disturbance.There's a prevailing trueness to the whole film. Ciki (the Bosnian Croat) and Nino (the Bosnian Serb) don't become best buds. There's no attempt to erase centuries of animosity between two cultures in one day. They do lower their guard enough to find the solution that gets both out alive (both have their opportunities to kill each other, but do not). This is another part of the microcosm the film represents. No one expects the Croats, Muslims, and Serbs to all get along instantly--they just want the killing to stop. Each man blames the other for 'starting the war.' The Muslim and Croat majority voted independence for Bosnia, leading most Bosnian Serbs, wishing to remain united with Serbia as Yugoslavia, to rebel against the new government. Each man believes he has a legitimate claim against the other.The UNPROFOR (U.N. Protection Force) soldiers represent, well, the U.N. The events that unfold once the French and British UN troops get involved in the trench between Serb and Croat/Muslim lines demonstrate what happens when a third party gets involved in someone else's battle. We see the futility of a "protective force" trying to stay out of the conflict. "There can be no neutrality in the face of murder," says the French UN captain, who can never properly define his role. Maybe the best thing "No Man's Land" has to offer is the way it puts you right there in the middle of the conflict. You get a real sense of the sociological texture of that time and place, and how out of place the horror of war is among these seemingly civilized, modern people. You wonder if the same people living together in a different place wouldn't be fighting at all. You get a sense that all that stands in the way of peace is history-or the unwillingness to let go of it.
A satirical critique of Serbo-Bosnian war *SPOILERS*
posted on 05 Nov 2008*SPOILERS* A black comedy in which no group involved is left unscathed. With the people on either side fighting their neighbors for reasons they don't know, and not being able to resolve anything themselves. The outside elements either being too image conscious to get its hand dirty as in the UN, or as in the case of the international press, too into getting the latest breaking story at the expense of exploiting the people who are suffering. The end result is that people on both sides of the war suffer tragically. The surviving soldier is secretly left to die by the UN as if it is turning a blind eye to the atrocities that is going on.Too many people get caught up in the cliche and lack of character development, but this is a movie that uses the characters to symbolize what happened during the war instead of the personal plight of a few of soldiers.Overall, a very good movie.
Best film on Bosnian conflict
posted on 12 Oct 2008No Man's Land is a war-comedy about soldiers from opposing sides trapped in a bunker between opposing firing lines. It is the story of four soldiers over a period of several hours. The movie is very funny because its very realistic and shows the utter absurdity of war.One of the two Serbians - the most experienced of all four soldiers - is shot dead, but not until he has lain a bouncing mine under a wounded Bosnian. The wounded Bosnian needs to go to the bathroom real bad and not to urinate. He also wants one of the cigarettes from the pack the other soldiers have swiped from his pocket - except he has a smokers cough. The other two soldiers (one Bosnian one Serb) both come from the same village and scored with the same town beauty who has since emigrated.Over the space of a few hours, the bunker becomes a ceasefire zone and the story of its inhabitants is blown up into an international media issue - thanks to a compassionate French UN soldier and an intrepid English war correspondent.Funny, highly watchable and not at all preachy, No Man's Land gets its message on the absurdity of was across very effectively. While watching it, I was alternately reminded of Dog Day Afternoon and The Big Carnival. An excellent anti-war movie with no winners in the end.
More black than comedy
posted on 26 Sep 2008A skillful a drama as ever could be mustered, but crucially here, the humor is only derived from the one-dimensional stereotypical portrayal of the various UN nationalities and the savage media hordes. It is they who are needed to keep the story afloat. What eventually emerges however is a unique film that draws more on the absurdity of the situation and the futility of war than any deliberately conceived script innovations the writers could put together. A very worthy film with rather more ‘black' than ‘comedy'. More drama from this particular European conflict should be given a chance to be seen on film
Choose LOVE over HATE (while you still can = alive with free will)
posted on 18 Sep 2008Hardly known to each other until they meet in a trench between lines of fire, one Bosnian soldier and one Serbian soldier now share the same situation as they must put aside the hatred built between the two countries and count on each other's trust in an attempt to elude from the war scene. Told in a satirically entertaining tone, No Man's Land (2001) is yet the best war-themed film i have seen. (seconded by "Black Hawk Down")Over the course of the 97-min duration of the film, i was led to think of what would happen if i were put into the situation the characters were presented with. i kept asking myself the question 'what if...?' what if the two soldiers learnt to care for each other in that instance of danger instead of exchanging words of hate? what if they became aware of the fact that how the two governments (to either of which each belongs to) suck bad and screw things up and that doesn't necessarily mean their people have to follow suit? what it would turn out to be if they were people with no historical background (or suffering from a temporary amnesiac symptom)?a simple conclusion can be easily drawn and put in this way: "politics" is up to no good and one should never get too deep in it.
Deeply Disturbing
posted on 08 Aug 2009This is a deeply disturbing film that everyone should see. It brings home the true insanity of war and the total depravity of the human mind. War is a sick, sick business that doesn't care about the human condition. It boggles my mind that some people think it was funny!! They need to spend a day in a war-torn country because they're too distanced from the horrors -- this is not MASH.