Killing Season (2013)

Two veterans of the Bosnian War -- one American, one Serbian -- find their unlikely friendship turn tense with one of them reveals their true intentions.

Director:

Mark Steven Johnson

Writer:

Evan Daugherty

Stars:

Robert De Niro, John Travolta, Milo Ventimiglia

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert De Niro	...	Benjamin Ford
John Travolta	...	Emil Kovac
Milo Ventimiglia	...	Chris Ford
Elizabeth Olin	...	Sarah Ford
Diana Lyubenova	...	Elena
Kalin Sarmenov	...	Serbian
Stefan Shterev	...	Bar Customer

Storyline

SHRAPNEL tells the story of two veterans of the Bosnian War, one American, one Serbian, who clash in the Appalachian Mountain wilderness. FORD is a former American soldier who fought on the front lines in Bosnia. When our story begins, he has retreated to a remote cabin in the woods, trying to escape painful memories of war. The drama begins when KOVAC, a former Serbian soldier, seeks Ford out, hoping to settle an old score. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game in which Ford and Kovac fght their own personal World War III, with battles both physical and psychological. By the end of the flm, old wounds are opened, suppressed memories are drawn to the surface and long-hidden secrets about both Ford and Kovac are revealed.

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Plot Keywords:

bosnian war | shrapnel | present day | execution | revenge | 

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Taglines:

The purest form of war is one on one.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, some torture, and language including some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Belgium

Language:

English Serbian

Release Date:

25 July 2013 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Face à face

Filming Locations:

Stone Mountain - Highway 78, Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$27,713 (USA) (12 July 2013)

Gross:

$27,713 (USA) (12 July 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Corsan, Nu Image Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert De Niro replaced Nicolas Cage.

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Goofs

When Ben is holding Emil at gunpoint on the rock, his hands alternate between holding the rifle above his waist and below in between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Emil Kovac: For 18 years I have waited.
[stands to leave]
Serbian: So what now?
Emil Kovac: Hunting. I am going hunting.

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Soundtracks

Don't Take Your Guns to Town
Written and Performed by 'Johnny Cash (I)'
Published by Warner
Chappell Music Publishing (BMI) Inc o/b/o
Anne Rachel Music Corp. (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Columbia Nashville
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Run to the hills

Its not easy to comment the reality of this movie especially when the one is involved in such reality as I am as a Serb. This is why I need more than just ten lines minimum requested by IMDb posting policy. Hope you won't mind.

Are you not entertained?!! Isn't that why you're here?! -Maximus-, The Gladiator

I have not been entertained. I believe that movie has just one flat action line that misses the exciting plot. Whole movie more or less is about what is Emil Kovach going to do to Colonel Ford. We were able to read about their relation in the IMDb movie synopsis so we know the general motives all the time and we are waiting for the involvement until the end of the movie but that never came. Pity, as the director could certainly exploit much more when having at his disposal such two actors as Robert De Niro and John Travolta. What I loved about this movie are some beautiful shuts of the Stone Mountains nature, very good camera work. That doesn't go for the Belgrade shots which bring some gray spots to the surface which makes me wonder where do I live. I was born in this city and have been living here for over forty years but have never seen such things. That brings us to mandatory Hollywood political messages while I have to admit that this movie is softer then standard propaganda that has been produced in Los Angeles for last 20 years, but still done with necessary 'Goebels' style:

We have all seen the movie prelude. This is my prelude: Serbian nation is second to Jewish on the scale of genocide victims in WWII when we speak about percentage of killed in relation to total population. Did you know that this genocide had not been conveyed by the Germans that Serbs fought in both world wars but by the nations that were supported by the US just 45 years later in their continuation of the successful genocide against the Serbs during the 'Bosnian war' in the ninety's? Did you know that Serbs were the only European nation who stayed loyal to the Ally cause on the large scale when Germans announced they will be shooting 100 Serbian civilians for 1 German soldier killed by Serbian guerrilla? Did you know that Allies bombed Belgrade on Orthodox Easter of 1944 killing more Serbian civilians than Hitler during the aggression on Serbia and his operation 'Punishment'? Many historical sources underline that on some non-exploded bombs was written HAPPY EASTER and Germans are not Orthodox. Did you know that the greatest operation behind the enemy lines in the US history was 'Operation Halyard' conveyed by the Serbian royal guerrilla in WWII where over 500 US airmen were saved from Germans in the middle of the German occupied territories? Did you know that US and the UK betrayed the Serbian allies along with whole Serbian nation handing them over to the communists who executed the royal guerrilla leaders and took over the power while killing hundred thousands of Serbs? But that is just beginning of the THANK YOU SERBS.

Lets get back to movie prelude: 1992 Serbian Army invaded Bosnia'. If you google the term 'Serbian Army' it will point you to a notorious lie on every online encyclopedia. Serbian army didn't exist in 1992 and neither did Serbia. Actually, they both exist only since 2006. The director tries to address the Yugoslav army but can't use such word since the one watching the movie could ask themselves how could Yugoslav army invade Bosnia when Bosnia was constitutional part of Yugoslavia at that time? Can the US army invade California or British troops Manchester? And this is where State Hollywood Department doesn't stop. War crimes in this civil war like any other are apparent, on all sides (lets mention that war fire was lit by the US supporting the demolition of Yugoslavia by all means). However, even though the US today tries by all propaganda means to involve studio made Serbian genocide to justify the war, thorough ethnic cleansing of the Serbs from these regions are telling the quite opposite while the Muslim and Catholic population live in the very same state of Serbia in the same number as before when Serbian territory was constitutional part of Yugoslavia. Only Serbia accepted almost one million of Serbian refugees from Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. Second, total population of Serbia is 7 million, including the refugees. Does it look like population of the 1300 years old nation that is committing genocides or the population on which genocide has been committed many times in its long history in which Serbia was even an empire? We should ask Germany which is over 80 million people or the US that is over 300 million? Hm ... I guess it depends on the answerer. For example, maybe and just maybe an honest American would say that is not American at all, since real Americans that were American natives have been exterminated by the Anglo-Europeans, his/her ancestors. Not easy to find honesty in today world where endangered species are the bad guys in Hollywood all the way from western movies to Killing Season.

I hope you don't mind my comment, I believe I am still less intoxicating than the Hollywood mean machine. Now I gotta go back to tighten my bow and sharpen my arrows.