No Man's Land (2001)

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 becomes a living booby trap.

Director:

Danis Tanovic

Writer:

Danis Tanovic

Stars:

Branko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac, Filip Sovagovic

Won 1 Oscar. Another 31 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

After various skirmishes, two wounded soldiers, one Bosnian and one Serb, confront each other in a trench in the no man's land between their lines. They wait for dark, trading insults and even finding some common ground; sometimes one has the gun, sometimes the other, sometimes both. Things get complicated when another wounded Bosnian comes to, but can't move because a bouncing mine is beneath him. The two men cooperate to wave white flags, their lines call the UN (whose high command tries not to help), an English reporter shows up, a French sergeant shows courage, and the three men in no man's land may or may not find a way to all get along.

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | serb | trench | booby trap | mine | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

MGMawards.com[us] Awards, release dates Océan Films [fr] (French)

Country:

Bosnia and Herzegovina France Slovenia Italy UK Belgium

Language:

Bosnian

Release Date:

19 September 2001 (France)

Also Known As:

Terra de Ninguém

Filming Locations:

Slovenia

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$22,645 (USA) (7 December 2001)

Gross:

$1,059,830 (USA) (24 May 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Noé Productions, Fabrica, Man's Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 90 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

After Ciki shoots Nino and the old soldier, he loads the other of the together taped magazines in the rifle and makes a loading movement, thus cycling the first round in the chamber. A bit later, in the "who started the war scene" in the bunker, Ciki shouts "who started the war?" and makes another loading movement, which would cause the first round to be ejected (unspent) from the rifle. Yet no round is ejected.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Anterija"
Sung by Sarr e Roma with:
Adnan Zimic
Amir Karaha Sanovic
Miralem Basic
Kosta Latinovic
with special guest
Muris Dautovic on the accordion

User Reviews

Stunning... Leaves You Breathless.

This is a movie of a rare sort. Do yourself a favor and don't watch any previews (I saw one preview that made it out to be a comedy). It is a harsh look at the reality, the humanity, and the thoughtlessness of so many wars we carry out in our world today. It truly left me breathless in jaw-dropping awe. It makes you see conflict, any conflict, in a whole new light. It also teaches a lesson that there is always more than one side to any story, and we must listen to all sides before putting any lives in danger. An important piece for any person of any culture of any age. There is no question in my mind that this deserves a perfect "10."