It's the middle of the night. The air is thick with fog, and there is not a sound to be heard. A Croatian relief squad is making its way onto a battlefield to replace some of their worn troops. It's the middle of the 1993 Bosnian/Serbian conflict. The battlefield is leveled off with the Bosnians on one side and the Serbians on the other. There is a large trench in the middle dividing them.

The relief squad secretly whispers to each other wondering if their guide on this foggy night is reliable. One soldier remarks that the fog is so thick that he cannot even see his feet. This describes the opening scene from Danis Tanovic's Academy Award winning "No Man's Land."

When day breaks and the fog has melted away, the troop finds that they have gotten lost in and are now in the middle of the battlefield with the Serbs staring them straight in the eye. They are quickly shot down but one soldier, Ciki (Branko Djuric) makes it into the trench safely.

The Serbians send two of their men out to check for survivors in the trench. Ciki hides and watches as one of the Serbs takes one of his dead comrades and places a landmine under him as a trap for Croats that come to collect their dead soldiers.

About to be found, Ciki springs from his hiding place. He kills one of the Serbs and wounds Nino (Rene Bitorajac).

Ciki spares him, thinking that he may be useful alive. Soon the "dead" man on the landmine awakens and learns that if he moves, they will all be blown to bits.

The tension continues to build as the two soldiers fight for control of the situation. The control depends on who has the gun. They finally come to an agreement to help each other out.

Nino has recently joined the war, and Ciki is a bitter man who saw his village burn due to the Serbian military. They resolve to make sure that each makes it out of the current conundrum. Nino even makes an attempt at a proper introduction and offers his hand to Ciki. Ciki acrimoniously refuses the gesture pointing out that the next time they see each other will be through a gun's sight.

Writer/director Danis Tanovic does not set the goal of forcing viewers to side with one of these soldiers. At different times, each soldier holds the other at gunpoint and forces him to say that their side started the war.

That's really not the point of the film. The film is trying to illustrate the ludicrousness of the entire war. Soon the United Nations becomes involved along with the press. If any, the real enemy is the U.N. and the press in their failure to bring resolve to the situation quickly.

Tanovic's film defeated the favorite, France's "Amelie," for Best Foreign film this year at the Academy Awards. It's a taut and gripping film with moments of such silent intensity that one can hear a bead of sweat drop off of a soldier's face. It does the smart thing and keeps the situation realistic by not having these two mortal enemies end up being the best of friends by the film's end.

Djuric and Bitorajac are excellent as Ciki and Nino, respectively, and the film possesses a certain intrinsic beauty. It's also funny in an uncomfortable sort of way as we may want to laugh at dialogue, but the drama of the situation precludes us.

Although this movie is exceptionally written it is spoken in Bosnian with English subtitles. Keep that in mind when purchasing this DVD.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older