4 Kosminsky's film implicitly opens questions over the policy adopted by Western governments in Bosnia, but he leaves the audience to ponder the implications. Although the events depicted frequently concern Bosnian Croatian attacks on ethnic Muslims, Kosminsky avoids any simple heroes or villains. At one point, it appears that Muslim forces shell their own settlement in an attempt to force the peacekeepers to take sides. Besides its value as a synthesis of experiences in Bosnia, Warriors makes a significant contribution to the genre of the war film. Too often, filmmakers, including Cimino, have claimed antiwar credentials only to glory in violence, reproduce wartime prejudice, or more subtly sell the benefits of the camaraderie that allegedly attends combat.
Warriors denies the audience any such comfort.
Here, violence is sudden, sordid, and unglamorous. The business of soldiering is futile. The relationships between soldiers within the film are troubled, and their homecoming merely confirms their alienation. They are not even accorded the status of victims, but ignored. The shared world of video games and Manchester United soccer shirts makes the disparity between the peace of Britain and horror of Bosnia seem all the more cruel.