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Reviews
Venuto al mondo (2012)
My God!
Don't know where to start. Yes this might contain spoilers so don't read it you don't wanna know :) I read the book from Margaret twice. The impact the book had on me was enormous. Beautifully written with characters you immediately felt in love with and which are very hard to forget. The movie did bring the characters and the book alive. To certain extend. The truth is it is hard to come even close to emotional impact the book had. The feelings the main protagonists had in the book was only partly shown in the movie. Actually the casting was spot on. I wouldn't choose better. They were clearly chosen with great care. They did act perfectly. The story Margaret wrote is hard to stomach. The drive to be a mother can be incredibly strong. And Gemma had this strong drive, but also she wasn't able to have the child. Diego loved her. Until the end. There was part in the book and in the movie as well where one would think that he stopped loving her. But as he was pure and good to the core he never stopped. He made sacrifices and he saved a child in process. He also was coward in the moment he should act. This is the beauty of the movie. It shows the war and the incredible impact it has on people. It shows that people can turn into cowards and heroes. Aska's story was particularly difficult to watch( even worse in the book). There were parts in the movie which really broke my heart. The part which showed how happy the people were in Sarajevo before the war. How beautiful and cheerful. And how quickly it was turned into a nightmare. I can't imagine how difficult has to be to watch movies like this who actually went through all of that in Bosnia. Aska's fate which was fate of many women in the war.
The one thing I missed was more of Gojko's story.. Adnan was wonderful in Gojko's story but there were parts I really missed and which were in the book. Also more of Gemma's father he was very important in the book. The movie might be hectic at times & hard to follow. Also I don't know whether I could connect to the characters as I did if I hadn't had read the book first. I felt that the story line was little bit rushed. This might be an issue for some people.
Hard to watch movie. Makes you thing, cry but also brings hope. Well worth 2 hours of your life.
Djeca (2012)
Mixed feelings
I don't know but I was expecting more of the movie. It was very dreary and boring at times. It seemed that Rahmina had only one facial expression and no fun or joy in life. One guy almost at the end of the movie proposed to her and I still don't know whether she was happy about it or sad. I know she was orphan and the life in the post war country is hard but still. The only time I could see any emotion was when she found the gun in her brother's things. I don't think it was acting as the actress was really good. It was the script. Also she supposed to be religious and the only thing which showed that is the hijab on her head. I haven't seen her praying or going to mosque. I thought the religion can be source of strenght and peace but in this case it wasn't there. It was like watching documentary movie about orphans I've watched Halima's Path just shortly before this movie. Also from Bosnia and I can't say that this movie can compare with quality and plot.
Overally still interesting to watch. There is a sense of injustice and despair throughout the movie. The ending is little bit optimistic. I liked the flashbacks to the siege time and shortly after siege. It was important to see in the movie. For people who like Balkan movies it's still good watch.As one different reviewer wrote it's clear that 17 years after the end of the siege and the war Sarajevo and Bosnia is still bleeding...
Halimin put (2012)
Heartbreaking
Was really looking forward to see this movie and it hasn't disappointing me. The movie is tragic story of Halima.Bosnian Muslim who lost her husband and son. It's also story of her niece who found the love of her life in a Serbian man. Something what was not acceptable for her father. Her pregnancy was a god send to Halima as she herself couldn't bear children.But in order to find her son's remains( he was murdered in the war) she must find her niece-his biological mother who is now married to her Serbian husband then boyfriend and hasn't had any contact with her family for 20 years.
This story is utterly tragic. The acting is brilliant.Alma Prica is incredible as Halima You can feel Halima's love and sorrow for her son. And the need to find his remains to bury him. Also Olga Pakalovic & Mijo Jurisic are brilliant. There is a great chemistry between then and the love story is therefore believable.
The movie also shows that the concept of multi-ethnic Bosnia and mixed marriages weren't accepted everywhere and not everybody liked the idea. And that not all was peachy before the war. There was mistrust and prejudice. Not even love could overcome it....
Lidice (2011)
worth watching
What to say about this movie... Well it's worth watching every minute is important. The story of Lidice is important. It's the story of human cruelty and madness. And story of people who died in the village. One would think that people learned from the events of WW2, but the recent history shows us that they didn't.
The acting was superb. I'm not big fan of Zuzana Fialova but she was excellent in this. The camera was brilliant. The beauty of Czech countryside in contrast with the bestiality of genocide. The soundtrack was perfect for the movie. The movie is fitting memorial for the victims I would say it's like a Schindler's list. Everybody should see it at least once. One scene did break my heart. The scene with children and their fate.
It might prevent something like this happen in the future. Because man is easily seduced by evil. And what happened in Lidice was pure evil.
Parada (2011)
Excellent
Was waiting to see the movie for a long time and it was worth the wait. It's very funny but also delivers strong message about prejudice and hate. The acting is superb. Hristina Popovic and Nikola Kojo gave excellent performance. I loved the soundtrack( some songs just stuck in my head) I believe this movie showed in humorous way what needs to be changed and what is definitely wrong in the society. And that they used some clichés. Well it's not the end of the world.
Living in the country were homosexuals have equal rights it's odd to see that there are countries where they are subjected to abuse and beating. But I do believe that this movie shows hope that this will change. Everybody deserves his/hers happiness and it's wrong to define person according to his sexual orientation. This was the main aim of the movie If even one person changed his opinion after watching this movie it served it purpose.
In the Name of the Son (2007)
Can 25 be more powerful then 2 hrs movie ...
In this case absolutely YES! Harun Mehmedinovic the director of the movie said:"In this case, I thought of a basic setup for the story early on, the idea of a father killing his son, because of another fascination of mine, which is the loss of individuality in war. I think most people are capable of being indoctrinated into an ideology so much that we forget that we are human beings, and only to realize, after the fact, what we have done. Even though the idea of a father killing his son is hard to stomach for most people, you can't deny that it happens during the war (and sometimes during peace). It happened in Bosnia, it happens in the Middle East, it happened during the American Civil War, it's been happening since the beginning of time. Humans are complicated beings. We often do things we can't imagine we're capable of doing, good and bad, when we are put in a certain position. I wanted to deal with this subject in a way where there is some hope left at the end, and it's not all as grim as it seems." This is not black and white war story. It is gray all the way thought. It will make you think about guilt, survival and war for a very long time
Iluzija (2004)
10 points go to Marko
Very powerful movie and quite depressive at times. Great story line and amazing acting. I have to praise mostly Marko Kovacevic he was amazing in this movie. If it is be possible I would give him Oscar for his performance.
Heartbreaking story about incredible talented and intelligent boy from very poor and dysfunctional family. He is bullied, beaten, insulted without any support and his life is a downright spiral to tragedy.
I did also like the performance of Nikola Djuricko.Who was brilliant as Paris.
Overall excellent movie.And great work from Macedonian film makers. Well done!
In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)
Definitely not a new Schindlers list but...
I have just finished watching the movie. Is this movie the best thing what had happened to Bosnia? Definitely not... Is this movie the worst thing what has happened to Serbia? Most definitely not. Serbian people should just take a deep breath and watch the movie before rating.
Rade's character- who was completely grotesque( although well played) and your standard issue of bad Serbs(diabolically laughing when shooting somebody?Really?)It's not positive factor of this movie. I believe less bla bla -my mother hands were rough and she had 7 kids and better dialogues would suffice. Some dialogues were bad. Especially the ones between Danjiel and Ajla. I didn't feel their emotions at all.
As for acting. Zana with all due my respect acted like an wooden doll. Shehad the same facial expression all the time.( Maybe Natascha Petrovic can teach how eyes can show all emotions)Goran was way better in his part just sometimes what he said made him look slightly retarded. The lovemaking scenes didn't make it up for the lack of good dialogues. She was naked quite a lot( and quite happy about being naked) and it was a bit out of place when trying to make serious movie about a rape camp.Also who hired the actress who played Alja's sister? Her acting was terrible.
I didn't like the way she portrayed Bosnian Army. In 1993 they were organized. They fought like lions and they do deserve respect and admiration. I haven't seen it in this movie at all.
The movie is not so brutal as some were saying. The rape is there but it was watchable.As for the killing of the baby- wasn't necessary to have it in the movie at all.
AJ had good intention to put everything in but you can't do that cause the movie will be too rushed. This what has happened to this particular movie.
OK now the good things about this movie. The soundtrack is beautiful. Some scenes were really well done. It's not 50-50 movie( how can it be really? The sides didn't have 50-50 weapons either) but it did show a few normal Serbian soldiers. Also Daniel's as character is quite complex and he is apparently in love with Ajla but he loves his father even more( or fears).
The events in the movie were not a lie and they did happened.There are parts in the movie which are 100 % work of fiction.Rape camps, concentration camp are not these parts. Both were built in the war and are unfortunate reminder of human cruelty.
This movie had a great potential but It is clearly a work of the beginner.I had great expectation for this movie. I thought it will be at least as good as the movie As if I'm not there. But my expectations were not fulfilled.In a way it's good that this movie was made. It might attract better directors to make better movies about this war. Bosnian war needs to be remembered.
Schindler's List (1993)
Changed my life
There are almost 1000 reviews about this movie but I still have to write mine. This movie changed my life. I firstly watched it when I was 14 and it was the most powerful movie I have ever seen. I cried several times during the movie. Everybody should see this movie. It's universal and gift for all generations to come. Acting wise R. Fiennes's performance was one of the best I have ever seen and he deserved an Oscar for it.Liam Neelson is great as well very subtle in his performance. I believe entire cast was great. Excellent actors who played their parts with passion and devotion.Some ppl don't like the black and white picture I believe it created perfect atmosphere in the movie. If you haven't watched you must at least once in your life
As If I Am Not There (2010)
Incredible movie
I kinda knew what to expect. The war in Bosnia was brutal. They didn't care about Geneva Conventions( I don't think they even heard about them) Rape was the instrument of the war by all sides. Thousands of Bosnian women were raped. There are many war movies but I think this movie is unique because it shows rape victims of war. Natasha Petrovic is incredible in this movie. Her eyes revealed everything every feeling. Hope to see her in different movie soon. And having read the book from Slavenka Drakulic I have to say that Juanita did great job. She didn't put blame on any side. You don't see army insignias and don't hears speeches about who started the war. You just see how innocent suffer in the war. This movie is very hard to watch and there are parts were you might even close your eyes. But it also shows strength of human being in midst of madness As a women I had to think what would I do in Samira's place. And probably the answer will be everything necessary in order to survive