No Man's Land (2001)

Director:

Danis Tanovic

Writer:

Danis Tanovic (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 2001 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Plot:

Bosnia and Herzegovina during 1993 at the time of the heaviest fighting between the two warring sides. Two soldiers from opposing sides in the conflict, Nino and Ciki, become trapped in no man's land, whilst a third soldier is becomes a living booby trap.

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Serb | Mine | Booby Trap | Trench

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 26 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Branko Djuric	...	Ciki
Rene Bitorajac	...	Nino
Filip Sovagovic	...	Cera
Georges Siatidis	...	Marchand
Serge-Henri Valcke	...	Dubois
Sacha Kremer	...	Michel
Alain Eloy	...	Pierre
Mustafa Nadarevic	...	Old Serbian soldier
Bogdan Diklic	...	Serbian officer
Simon Callow	...	Soft
Katrin Cartlidge	...	Jane Livingstone
Tanja Ribic	...	Martha
Branko Zavrsan	...	Deminer
Djuro Utjesanovic	...	Bosnian guide
Mirza Tanovic	...	Bosnian officer

Also Known As:

Nicija zemlja (Bosnia and Herzegovina: Croatian title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

98 min | Turkey:90 min (TV version)

Country:

Bosnia and Herzegovina | Slovenia | Italy | France | UK | Belgium

Language:

English | French | Bosnian | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:All | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Slovenia

Company:

Noé Productions

Goofs:

Factual errors: Nino is hit with a rifle round from less than 10 meters distance in the lower abdomen. There is no exit wound on his back, and he seems - apart from pain - unhurt, can walk etc. While a round from an assault rifle in the lower abdomen may not kill instantly, it exits on the back, leaving great damage to the internal organs and probably the spine too, so that walking would not have been possible.

Quotes:

Sgt. Marchand: Vous parlez francais?
Serb private: No.
Sgt. Marchand: Do you speak English?
Serb private: Yes.
Sgt. Marchand: We came for people.
Serb private: Yes.
Sgt. Marchand: People between lines.
Serb private: Yes, yes.
Sgt. Marchand: Where are they?
Serb private: Yes, yes, yes.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Njemo Kolo

A unique point of view

If this film is anything it is a true bite of reality. It does not preach or provide a drawn out moralizing conclusion. It does not take sides or provide possible solutions to a well-publicized conflict. What it does is that it provides a point of view of a director who has indeed seen it all and has been able to tell a story full of dark humor, satirical and comical, but most of all tragic. It is rare for a director to succeed commercially and/or critically coming from ethnical background that he is without compromising the story that is not easy to tell. Furthermore, this is not a Hollywood commercial product; having an excuse to use the conflict as the background in order to show some exquisite fireworks of shooting, escapades and a whole row of already recognizable clichés. What makes this film worth more that one watch is that it takes human life at its most vulnerable, that it is about communication or lack of thereof, the excellent use of international cast and different languages adding to the confusion of an understanding the conflict that was truly not understood by anyone.