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 28 wins & 24 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:

year 1993 | allegory | war satire | civil war | bosnian soldier | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

12

Did You Know?

Trivia

Danis Tanovic's directorial film debut.

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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

References Die Schlümpfe (1981)

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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

IMDb's movie of the day is worth tracking down (NO spoilers)

I'm glad the IMDb featured this flick as its movie of the day, it is a great film and one which I think a lot of people passed over because it has... (shudder) sub-titles. : ) I am always aghast at some people's reactions to "foreign films" (in other words not Hollywood-produced), much less if it actually requires you to READ the dialogue. If you like war movies (and I am talking about those war movies which have you contemplate the brutality and morality of armed conflict, not those that glorify it... although those can be fun too) then you will... well perhaps "enjoy" is too strong a word as I found parts truly horrifying, not in a "look at the gore" way but in a "man is a terrible beast" way... so let's say "captivate" you with its intensity and what I felt to be an honest assessment of war and this conflict in particular. Greatly acted and a great idea behind the movie, this film gets 10/10 from me, though as I mentioned it is not the same 10/10 a LOTR or Star Wars gets, this movie is not a popcorn muncher but one that will get you thinking and keep you thinking long after the credits finish.

Details

Official Sites:

MGMawards.com Awards, release dates [United States] Océan Films [France] (French)

Country:

France Bosnia and Herzegovina Italy Belgium UK Slovenia

Language:

Bosnian French English Serbian

Release Date:

20 February 2003 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Ničija zemlja

Filming Locations:

Slovenia

Box Office

Budget:

EUR2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,645, 9 December 2001

Gross USA:

$1,012,153

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,858,869

Company Credits

Production Co:

Noé Productions, Fabrica, Man's Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 90 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1