Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Bosnia is a topic that hits home for my family. Born and raised in Sarajevo my wife lived the events of Shot Through the Heart. From being forced from her home to seeing people shot in the streets while trying to get water she can vouch for the types of events depicted right down to the snipers shooting kids.

The movie is about Vlado and Slavko who are the best of friends and Olympic level sharpshooters. Tension is high in Bosnia but Vlado believes the civilized nations in the world will not allow war to break out there. Slavko is called to serve in the Serbian military shortly before the bombs begin to fall.

Not only do the Serbs have a better trained military, but they are also better equipped and have a better vantage point. The citizens put forth all their efforts in basic survival, and the meager resistance they are able to muster cannot push back the Serbs.

Vlado helps train some of the civilians but doesn’t use his shooting skills until his friend’s daughter is killed by a sniper. Knowing the shooter had to have been trained by Slavko, a growing resentment deepens when Vlado learns his friend is committing similar atrocities. Vlado must decide if he can bring himself to shoot his friend in order to stop his murderous rampage.

This movie is based on a true story. Not just the war but the story of the sharpshooter friends as well. It has been dressed up for Hollywood a bit. ***MAJOR SPOILER!!!*** The most glaring example of this is that Vlado, in real life, did not shoot Slavko. In fact, both men lived through the war, although they were no longer friends. I can’t say what later years held for either one of them.
***END SPOILER***

Even so, knowing this is largely non-fictional gives it a weight that most movies can’t approach. In fact, it can be hard to watch. I don’t think my wife has seen it more that a couple of times even though I would never have known about it if she hadn’t shown me. For her it has sentimental value but brings back hard memories. For me it is an educational glimpse at some of what she went through.

Though they are years apart and not related other than being about the same war, Shot Through the Heart and No Man’s Land are excellent companions. STTH shows a broad view of the war including its beginning, and how people in Sarajevo reacted to it. NML starts in the middle of the war and shows the people fighting on the front lines as well as some of the politics including the frustrating ineffectualness of the United Nations. If you want to know more about the conflict Shot Through the Heart followed by No Man’s Land will help you learn.

Acting is good particularly with the two male leads, Vincent Perez and Linus Roache. Despite this being a non-theatrical movie with low distribution it is of that quality. All the Bosnians I know give it their stamps of approval even though it’s made for English audiences. Speaking of which, if you don’t like reading subtitles, don’t worry; the movie is entirely in English even though that takes away from the realism a little.

Content:
The movie is for a mature audience as you might expect from a war movie with people getting shot in the head by snipers. There actually isn’t much blood but there’s a lot of disturbing death. There are three scenes with nudity: one with a little sex and one with rape. The nudity is quick and or in deep shadows. The language is pretty bad, too. But even if you cleaned all that up it’s still not a good kids’ movie. While it is a good display of history and culture, parents might want to use caution.

DVD:
The movie is available on DVD though I had to import it from Hong Kong. This is the Panorama Entertainment version. I can’t say if other companies have released it or not. This one has a plastic case that is bulkier than standard American designs. There is a cardboard sleeve that has the exact same images and info as the regular sleeve. I’m not real sure why they made it and the fit is so tight that getting the case back in is difficult. The insert has a chapter list and a few nice images, but it’s so wide that it barely fits inside the case. It’s also printed like a book except there’s nothing inside it, strange.

Video is the TV ratio of 1.33. The quality could stand to be a touch better, but the 5.1 audio sounds good.

Upon inserting the disc you are treated to a couple of logos and some warnings. I think you can skip all but the first which has to play and is far too long despite the nice graphics. From there you go to the movie rather than an interface.

It does have an interface, though, 2 actually: 1 in English and 1 in Chinese, but you won’t come to it much since there is little to do. Unless you want to watch it in Chinese you won’t have to adjust the language settings. I thought it would be extremely interesting to have a Bosnian language track, but there’s only English.

The extras are bland. Vincent and Linus have bio pages but they aren’t much longer than a paragraph each. There are 3 previews, one of which has more sex and nudity than the entire movie.

The Bosnian war didn’t get as much press as the war in Iraq, and the movie hasn’t had much advertising that I’ve seen. I think that’s why there’s not more buzz than there is. It is truly a gem amongst unknown movies. Unfortunately DVD copies can be hard to find and expensive. You are probably not going to want to invest that much into getting it, but if you are able to rent it, do so! 4* based on strength of the movie since the DVD offers little. A good DVD release would have gotten the movie 5*.

If you’re interested in Bosnia you might want to check out

24 Season 1
Behind Enemy Lines


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age