Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)

Journalist Floyd from the U.S., Michael Henderson from the U.K., and their teams meet at the beginning of the Bosnian war in Sarajevo. During their reports, they find an orphanage run by ... 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 the U.S., Michael Henderson from the U.K., and their teams meet at the beginning of the Bosnian war in Sarajevo. During their reports, they find an orphanage run by the devoted Mrs. Savic near the frontline. Henderson gets so involved in the kids' problems, that he decides to take one of 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 met with the real-life journalist he plays in the film, Michael Henderson, but chose not to establish too much of a relationship with him as he wanted to create his own particular portrait of the man.

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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

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Knight and Day/I Am Love/The Killer Inside Me (2010)

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Soundtracks

I Wanna Be Adored
Written by John Squire and Ian Brown
Performed by The Stone Roses (as Stone Roses)

User Reviews

Nice piece of work for Hollywood

Although this movie makes a nice film about the heart-wrenching situation in Bosnia-Hercegovina, it should not be taken for it's portrayal of a current event. The movie seems to have been made as a historical film (a la "The Killing Fields")but instead failed due to its one sided portrayal of the situation. The film ignores the truth of a country that has gone wrong, but instead blames a certain group who terrorizes another. Both sides lost by participating in a war which this film often overlooks. It was OK in the sense of entertainment value but no awards who overlooked this film made a mistake either. If you want to watch a quality film on the situation, watch "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame" (Lepo Selo Lepo Gore); it fulfills what "Welcome to Sarajevo" lacks.