Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)

Journalist Floyd from US, Michael Henderson from UK and their teams meet the beginning of Bosnian war in Sarajevo. During their reports they find an orphanage run by devoted Mrs. Savic near... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Winterbottom

Writers:

Michael Nicholson (book), Frank Cottrell Boyce

Stars:

Stephen Dillane, Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen Dillane	...	Michael Henderson
Woody Harrelson	...	Flynn
Marisa Tomei	...	Nina
Emira Nusevic	...	Emira
Kerry Fox	...	Jane Carson
Goran Visnjic	...	Risto Bavic
James Nesbitt	...	Gregg
Emily Lloyd	...	Annie McGee
Igor Dzambazov	...	Jacket
Gordana Gadzic	...	Mrs. Savic
Juliet Aubrey	...	Helen Henderson
Drazen Sivak	...	Zeljko
Vesna Orel	...	Munira
Davor Janjic	...	Dragan
Vladimir Jokanovic	...	Emira's Uncle

Storyline

Journalist Floyd from US, Michael Henderson from UK and their teams meet the beginning of Bosnian war in Sarajevo. During their reports they find an orphanage run by devoted Mrs. Savic near the front line. Henderson gets so involved in kids' problems that he decides to take on the children, Emira, illegally back to England. He is assisted by American aid worker Nina.

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Plot Keywords:

journalist | sarajevo | orphanage | england | bosnian war | 

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Taglines:

For this celebrated, outrageous, adrenaline-loving bunch of reporters, home is the latest war zone. Now, one of them is about to do the unthinkable--get emotionally involved.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal images/war atrocities and language

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Serbian Bosnian

Release Date:

26 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dobrodošli u Sarajevo

Filming Locations:

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$89,274, 30 November 1997, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$339,648, 25 January 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Channel Four Films, Dragon Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Dillane's son Frank plays his son in the film.

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Goofs

The song which plays as Michael and Risto enter the apartment to search for the mother, is "M.O.R." by Blur. This song was released in 1997, despite the movie taking place during the siege of Sarajevo, years earlier.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: In 1991, the country of Yugoslavia began to fracture into separate nations. On the pretext of maintaining Yugoslavia's integrity, the Serbian dominated Yugoslav army attacked first Slovenia, then Croatia.
Title Card: In April 1992, in the hope of securing international protection, Bosnia declared its independence. This was rejected by many Bosnian Serbs. Aided by the remnants of the Yugoslav army, they set out to claim as much territory as they could.
Title Card: They systematically cleansed towns and ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Alien Resurrection/Welcome to Sarajevo/Flubber/Public Housing/Bent (1997)

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Soundtracks

Way Young Lovers Do
Written by Van Morrison
Performed by Van Morrison

User Reviews

Truth or Holiwood move

I saw the film many times, and every time I am more and more disappointed,which is shame because the films from EX YU are usually very good. The shame here is, that Holiwood tried to make film about the place and people it has no idea. My self coming from the Balkans(Macedonia) found this film disappointing.Simply that the Bosnian characters are not really understood and not truly portrayed. To understand the mentality of a person from EX YU, you need to know their background, way of live, what makes them cry and laugh.And the director of the film didn't took that as guideline. When we(EX YU) make films, lots of symbolism is build in it, which makes the characters recognisable and likable, and mostly portraying the truth(if it is based on true story) The films like "Pritty village, pretty flame", "Tito and Me', "Underground',"No mans land', "Before the Rain","Black cat, white cat","Otac na sluzbenom putu",(When father was away on business),"Ko to tamo peva"(Who sings over there?)Rare the masterpiece of the Balkan cinematography,and nothing can compare to it. Not the half baked story of and Holiwood studio. As somebody from the panel mentioned the story jumps from one end of town to the other with no real connection. I am sorry but when the film is made is not only for the American armchair variety of viewers but for the rest of the World too, and some of them live on the Balkans and Sarajevo too. And to add insult to the injury, half of the things are shoot in Bitola ,Macedonia where I come from. Imagen my shock when I saw the Broad st. of Bitola in the opening scene of the film, when the bride is shoot from the sniper.And what was that inserting real footage of the news covering in the film? Anyway very disappointing, as the truth is far away from the film. Shame that nobody consulted the real people how is to live in Sarajevo under fire, before they shoot the film. book is one thing and real life is other, and this film lets down both.