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 | Trench | Serb | Mine | Booby Trap

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:

Continuity: When the two Serbian soldiers shortly leave the trench and Ciki has a possibility to get his rifle in the shelter, he is seen to do a loading movement, cycling the first round in the chamber. This means he would have inspected the trench before with a not-ready-to-fire gun, making no sense at all.

Quotes:

[Nino points a gun at Chiki]
Nino: Now... tell me. Who started the war?
Chiki: [long pause] We did.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Neprilagodjenost

IMDb's movie of the day is worth tracking down (NO spoilers)

I'm glad the IMDb featured this flick as its movie of the day, it is a great film and one which I think a lot of people passed over because it has... (shudder) sub-titles. : ) I am always aghast at some people's reactions to "foreign films" (in other words not Hollywood-produced), much less if it actually requires you to READ the dialogue. If you like war movies (and I am talking about those war movies which have you contemplate the brutality and morality of armed conflict, not those that glorify it... although those can be fun too) then you will... well perhaps "enjoy" is too strong a word as I found parts truly horrifying, not in a "look at the gore" way but in a "man is a terrible beast" way... so let's say "captivate" you with its intensity and what I felt to be an honest assessment of war and this conflict in particular. Greatly acted and a great idea behind the movie, this film gets 10/10 from me, though as I mentioned it is not the same 10/10 a LOTR or Star Wars gets, this movie is not a popcorn muncher but one that will get you thinking and keep you thinking long after the credits finish.