The UN does what the UN usually does....

Rating: 9/10 (9 July 2014)

"No Man's Land" was the Oscar winner for the Best Foreign Language Picture back in 2002. Although it won this award and it has a rather high rating on IMDb, I avoided watching it because the description of the film seemed pretty depressing and miserable. However, after seeing it, I advise you consider watching the film despite the tough subject matter, as it really has a lot to say and is well worth your time.
The film is set in Bosnia-Herzegovina during their horrible war in the 1990s. Two soldiers take refuge in a small encampment in no-man's land- -not realizing that an enemy soldier is hiding there as well. As the enemy watches, one of the soldiers shows the other how to booby-trap a body belonging to an enemy soldier. In other words, when his own countrymen later come to bury him, when they pick him up it will detonate a mine! Well, the hiding soldier is enraged when he hears this and opens fire on the two soldiers--killing one and wounding the other. Soon, however, she shooter realizes that the booby-trapped man is actually still alive! Now there are three guys stuck in no-man's land and it looks very doubtful that they'll make it out alive.
This is pretty much the description I'd read about the film--and it didn't interest me very much. Fortunately, the movie doesn't end with this--there is much more to the film. Soon, the United Nations forces get pulled into this and the film becomes a searing indictment of the pathetic record of this 'peace-loving body'! The ending is darkly funny and sad--and is something you really should see.
The film is a wonderful microcosm of the entire Yugoslavian civil war. Summed up in these three soldiers is a story that pretty much explains the nihilistic nature of these wars. Writer/director Danis Tanovic did a wonderful job of creating an engaging and extremely intelligent film-- and I can see why it took home this prestigious award. Too bad, however, that the film really didn't matter all that much, as the war had long been over and the damage had been done...and the UN performed it's usual cracker jack job of remedying the situation!