A subtle romance.

Rating: 7/10 (10 November 2013)

I watched this movie without having read any of the reviews and its reception by the masses and critics, and I cannot be more glad to have done that. Yes, it was indeed a wrong message from the director who went on saying that it is an attempt to reconcile the tension between the two warring parties. However, if one looks at the film from the perspective of Ajla and Danijel, and their twisted, if I could use the word, love, for each other, I think Jolie did an incredible job. For me, the movie scored when only viewed from the angle of Ajla and Danijel, and the Bosnian war serving as the backdrop of their story. I believe both the actors did an incredible job by maintaining the element of being reserved, which highlights the tension that they are going through in their respective lives: Danijel, torn between his love for Ajla and his duty as a son, both to Serbia and his father; and Ajla's character being at loggerheads between her love for Danijel and the revenge motif that plays along. I think it is one of the most subtle romances in recent times. At once where I saw a sort of an imbalance between the two protagonists, with Danijel's character getting projected as a bit outgoing compared to Ajla's act of being restrained throughout, I kind of made peace to the difference as it only hints at the complexity of her character, and her action as we head towards the climax. Amidst all the gory depiction of war and its brutality, I think In The Land Of Blood And Honey emerges as a love-story told in a very subtle manner.