Powerful and Relentless- A Solid Debut for Jolie

Rating: 8/10 (16 January 2012)

"In the Land of Blood & Honey" is powerful, brutal, and relentless. I knew going in this was going to be harsh and I imagine it would have been even more hard hitting had I not read a couple reviews before. The performances from the leads were very strong. And yes, it was a basically one sided portrayal of the conflict. Serbs were generally shown as villains- I wouldn't say "evil"- but they were shown as clear aggressors, with agendas to cleanse Bosnia of Muslims (though there were individuals shown to have mixed feelings about this tactic). There is some dialogue that tried to give justification for things like the Srebrenica Massacre ("these Muslims killed xxx amount of Serb civilians last week, we're going to make them pay now" etc), but it would have been more effective if it was shown rather than said- so I do think the film could have shown how the Serbs also suffered in the war but it didn't.
With that said it's hard to argue that these atrocities didn't happen- rape camps, genocide, and the like. And this movie was cold and brutal in its depiction of it. Like all war movies, it shows the conflict through the perspective of a few characters- namely Muslim Aijla, her Serbian lover/soldier Danjiel, and her sister. It showed how all of their lives get torn apart as a result and it was uncomfortable to watch, though very well done for a directorial debut- and for a low budget film it certainly had admirable production values and some well done war scenes. The relationship at the center was twisted- a cat and mouse "forbidden love" story that didn't have a chance despite the couple's efforts.
Jolie's script and characters are not perfect, and there is some dialogue that was a little clunky and clearly for the benefit of the general audience who didn't know much about the history of the conflict, but even so it's still a confusing issue to follow. Ultimately, like I had expected, I don't think it served so much to blame Serbians for the war but rather the West and their non-intervention for so long. And it is disturbing to think that all this was going on in Europe just in the last decade, a half hour from Italy. It doesn't quit until the very end and the end is gut wrenching just like the rest of the movie. Rather than focusing on small things to nitpick, I believe Jolie should be commended for a truly astonishing debut feature that brings light to a tragedy that has been severely overlooked- it was largely ignored while it was happening and now, 20 years later, is largely forgotten.
8.5/10