No Man's Land

I wondered what kind of film could have walked away with Amélie's Oscar. Now I know, and I have to say I haven't seen a film with such a well-written story in a long time. A brilliant black-humour look at the war in Bosnia, the media and the embarrassing role of UNPROFOR. A truly brilliant plot and performances and I bow to director Tanovic for his first feature. I watched it at the SFS and I hope it gets a wider distribution so more people will see it. (30/07/2002)

A great tragicomic drama about a time when in Yugoslavia everyone hated each other and nobody knew why. When two are fighting, the third… does nothing. 10/10 (04/09/2010)

The absurdity of the Bosnian-Serbian conflict is matched by the overall mood of this remarkable film. It would be wrong to accuse it of having a simple plot and uniform characters. Danis Tanović best portrayed the absurdity of the whole situation on these very characters. No Man's Land is not a film intended to appeal through bombastic war spectacle or profound philosophical contemplations. That is because it revolves around a Serbian soldier versus a Bosnian soldier, the indecisiveness of the UN troops, who seem more focused on "maintaining the war" rather than peacekeeping, and an investigative journalist, driven to get her story at any cost. If the term "Balkan conflict" means anything to you, you can understand that war is folly, even if you are not an adamant pacifist. (05/11/2005)

The traditional Balkan school can be found in the style of Danis Tanović. The art of a tragicomic situation that balances on the edge of concrete and metaphor, to display a bleak whole, is typical especially for Emir Kusturica, but Tanović seconds him more than proficiently. At first, the humorous paradox of three men who find themselves in caught between the battle lines of Serbs and Bosnians grows into absurd dimensions of personal and super-personal tragedy, which the "Western" world, immersed in its quasi-messianic role, is unable to comprehend, let alone resolve. No Man's Land can be perceived as a brilliantly filmed intimate drama, but it is far better to see it as a statement of the illogicality of one conflict and the inability of Western civilization to be empathetic. The dismal ending is on par with the strongest moments of Kusturica’s filmography, and it is precisely this fact that makes me give it full marks even after the rather dull introduction. One should not only see No Man's Land, but one should also try to empathize with what one who understands more than the reporters of the mass media tells us without unnecessary nationalist passions. (05/11/2005)

In every aspect an exceptional film, with a well-developed, fully functional screenplay, meticulously directed, casted, and with outstanding performances. Together with Kosminski's film Warriors, the most poignant and valuable portrayal of the Bosnian conflict. The absurdity of war is depicted in a tragicomic and utterly unnecessary encounter between two enemy soldiers on the front line next to a disarmed landmine, on which the body of a third, severely injured man rests. Despite its light and satirical tone, there is no happy ending... Overall impression 95%. (21/11/2007)

I can tell a good anti-war film by how it affects me. If the message doesn't hit me hard, it's just a waste of financial resources. The creators of this film didn't waste any, and the message hit hard. I could hardly find a better depiction of the senselessness of war. There is no doubt that soldiers essentially function as a group of armed tourists, and although there are capable and determined people among them, their leadership cancels them out. If the story didn't take place outdoors, it could have been considered a chamber film. However, the story was so intense that it easily beats many so-called blockbusters. / "Maybe you could get a close of them clearing the mine." / Lesson learned: There are situations you can't get out of, even if you tried so hard you shit yourself. (31/03/2023)

At first glance, it's a quite simple movie that tries to show how insane war actually is, how senseless it is, and what it can awaken in people if they don't have a strong enough will or if they simply find themselves in an unpredictable situation. And this applies not only to soldiers, but also to civilians and reporters. (07/04/2016)