Tanovic's unique view of war

Rating: Null/10 (26 January 2003)

In these days, most of the successful war films are mainly comprised of spectacular action sequences, bloody and most realistic scenes of war violence, disturbing picture and continuous thunderous sound effects. No Man's Land, a low-budget film from Bosnia, has practically none of these. Yet it should be considered one of the most spectacular war dramas ever made. Full credit to Tanovic for presenting us a magnificient story, superb direction and most important, the message the film carries.
What war actually is, we the common people who stay away, cannot understand. We take war as a hot topic to discuss, a set of stories to sell, a subject to argue about in the parliaments, a headline to adorn the first page of newspapers. We can never get the true spirit of war. Only soldiers, who suffered, who bore hardship, who lost everything, can only feel it. Others practically enjoy war as if it's a movie. So through Tanovic's lens, everyone is guilty, everyone..... politicians, media persons, journalists, peacekeepers from UN...... everyone who is related, but not directly involved. Why? because they don't think of the future of the soldiers, they only think about the future of the war.
This basic message is the heart and soul of the movie. And the superb, provocative ending.... it's just a satire meant for other commercial filmmakers. Tanovic really did a revolutionary job in this film. He was well assisted by the two main actors. Branko Djuric is excellent as Chiki and Rene Bitorajac has also performed quite well. I don't understand the language, but I saw it with English subtitles. So, for a movie which starts off with a four-letter-word, No Man's Land is certainly far beyond your expectations.