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:

To get the story, they'll risk everything.

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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

Woody Harrelson has appeared in such politically themed movies as LBJ (2016), where he played the title nickname character of former President Lyndon Johnson, Game Change (2012), Barry Levinson's political satire Wag the Dog (1997), Battle in Seattle (2007), and Welcome to Sarajevo (1997). The following year after LBJ (2016), Harrelson played the title character in Wilson (2017), but this was not former President Woodrow Wilson, as with the earlier Wilson (1944).

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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

Eve Of Destruction
Written by P.F. Sloan (as Phil F. Sloan)
Performed by Groupa Dollar

User Reviews

The Sad Effect of a War in the Children

In Sarajevo, the British journalist Michael Henderson (Stephen Dillane) is correspondent of war, who decides to cover the orphans' situation due to the Bosnian War. Through successive matters, he tries to show and sensitize the public opinion about this ignored war. Meanwhile, he gets emotionally involved with Emira (Emira Nusevic), a young Bosnian girl. He decides to take the chance and brings her to the breast of his family in London. Some time later, the girl's mother is found alive and requests the care of her daughter. Michael returns to Sarajevo to convince her to let him adopt Emira.

The first time I watched this impressing movie was in 1999 and indeed it was the first film about the Bosnian war that I have seen. The director Michael Winterbottom makes a magnificent work, alternating reality and fiction through images. Based on a true event, he uses real war footages intercalating with his film to show the atrocities of this war, having the focus on the children. Stephen Diallane, Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Emira Nusevic and the rest of the cast have brilliant performances. There is a very special and cynical scene that I like a lot, when the American journalist Flynn apologizes to a local in the name of the American people for the non-intervention of USA in this dirty war. This is maybe the best line of the great actor Woody Harrelson in this excellent movie. This week I have watched five films about this war and all of them are really excellent and highly recommended. If the reader likes this theme and wants to see different approaches, do not miss 'Harrison's Flowers', 'Vulkovar', 'Pretty Village, Pretty Flame' and 'Shot Through the Heart'. I intend to see again the magnificent 'Savior' and 'No Man's Land' along this week also about this horrible war. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): 'Bem Vindo a Sarajevo' ('Welcome to Sarajevo')