A great film-The other 80% of the world that fights wars like its the middle ages; and the women who suffer for it.

Rating: 10/10 (5 December 2015)

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.