Written & Directed by Danis Tanovic when he was barely 31 years of age. I have a personal favor for movies close to real life or movies based on true stories. I wish the events narrated in this movie should never happen again. Unfortunately things like this happen very often in real life and most of us witness them sitting in a comfortable couch, watching the news on a television.
This movie won an Oscar for best foreign language film during 2002. I heard about this movie a long time ago but never had a chance to watch it until yesterday. Apparently this movie is going to be my first blog on movies and i am glad i picked up the DVD at my school's library.
Starts with heart pounding music, which apparently is used as a background score only at the beginning and at the end. This gripping movie is set during 1993 between Bosnia and Herzegovina while they were at war front. Two men Nino (Branko Djuric) and Ciki (Rene Bitorajac), become trapped in no man's land (a trench), whilst a third soldier is becomes a living booby (mine) trap. They try to communicate to the opposing front when finally a UN sergant arrives to rescue them. UN sergant is ordered to leave the trench by his superiors but with the help of a TV reporter he brings everyone's attention to save the men in the trench.While they try to diffuse the mine, the stroy unfolds into a list of unexpected events.
The fact that this movie is close to my heart is because it touches every aspect of the reality and the humanitarian aspect of it. No man's land even managed to add wry, dark comedy in it making us more attached to the characters. Nino finds a cigarette packet and lights a cigarette and Ciki asks if he can have one. Nino says no and when Ciki asks why, he says "I have the gun and you don't". At another moment when Ciki picks up the gun and forcefully gets the cigarette from Nino and says "now i have the gun and you don't" . The director ridicules the hierarchy, cruelty of war and how media is intrigued about getting the news.
It is worth spending time watching this movie and definitely a collector's edition. If you are someone who only like happy endings, let me tell you there isn't such a thing in real life.
Courtesy: http://www.unitedartists.com/nomansland/
