In the Land of Blood and Honey Review

Rated R (War Violence and Atrocities including Rape, Sexuality, Nudity and Language)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 7 Minutes

Cast-

Zana Marjanović-Ajla

Goran Kostić-Danijel Vukojević

Rade Šerbedžija-General Nebojša Vukojević

Vanessa Glodjo-Lejla

Nikola Đuričko-Darko

Branko Đurić-Aleksandar

Feđa Štukan-Petar

Dzana Pinjo-Nadja

Boris Ler-Tarik

Directed by Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie makes her directorial debut with "In the Land of Blood and Honey," a drama set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War.

Note: In Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian with English subtitles.

A mere seven months after the official end of World War I which resulted in an unprecedented 35 million military and civilian casualties, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau made the following remark during his July 1919 Discours de Paix (translated: Speech on Peace) in Verdun, France: ‘It is easier to make war than [to] make peace.’ Despite the destruction that World War I had wrought on the nations of Europe, it was not ‘the war to end all wars’ as President Woodrow Wilson had predicted but merely the beginning. Since then there has been World War II and countless other armed conflicts around the world that has claimed the lives of many, all for some vague ideology or concept of freedom. Niko Bellic, the main character from Rockstar’s open-world video game Grand Theft Auto IV bitterly remarked that ‘war is when the young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other,’ an apt way of describing Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut film, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” which depicts a love story set during the Bosnian War that lasted from 1992 to 1995. The Bosnian War is one of the most devastating armed conflicts since the end of World War II and was characterized by bitter fighting, systematic mass rape, and genocide. The aftermath left not just cities reduced to rubble and an environment infested with crime but also a painful scar seared into the memories of the survivors and their descendants that continues to be felt even today. A UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador since 2001, Jolie is well-known for her humanitarian work but while “In the Land of Blood and Honey” was made with obvious sincerity, the film never quite comes together as well as it should with its problematic script and underdeveloped characters. There are a number of other issues as well but the film remains an admirable effort as Jolie proves that she has what it takes to be a director. 

Taking place in Sarajevo on the eve of the Bosnian War in 1992, aspiring Muslim painter Ajla (Zana Marjanović) is preparing to go a date with a Serbian police officer named Danijel (Goran Kostić), much to the excitement of her older sister Lejla (Vanessa Glodjo). At the nightclub, Ajla and Danijel are clearly new acquaintances but they hit it off immediately and dance the night away. However, their bliss is short-lived when a bomb blast rips through the club and leaves many either dead or heavily wounded. Ajla comforts a young woman while Danijel helps to evacuate and clear out the rubble. Four months later, Bosnia-Herzegovina is engulfed by war as Serbian soldiers lay siege to Sarajevo while the international community apathetically watches. Families are dragged from their apartments where the men are summarily executed while the women are taken captive to be subjected to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Ajla is among those taken but through a stroke of fate, she is reunited with Danijel, now a soldier serving in the Serbian army with his father, General Nebojša Vukojević (Rade Šerbedžija). Danijel quietly protects her from the other men with the two meeting often in a private room where they can talk and make love. However, Ajla finds that she cannot excuse Danijel for his complacency in the murder of her people and seeks to escape. Their conflicting feelings on the war soon cause a rift to form between them that may very well put Ajla’s life in danger. 

For a first time director, Angelina Jolie does an excellent job depicting the conflict that engulfed Yugoslavia during the early to mid-1990s in an authentic manner. This is clearly not a vanity project for her and it is obvious in every frame that she cares deeply about the issues that have resulted from the war and wants to raise awareness by shaking people out of their apathy. “In the Land of Blood and Honey” never shies away from showing the brutal acts that were committed but neither does it become exploitative. During the bus ride to the Serbian encampment, Ajla notices a man fleeing on the street suddenly shot dead. This is depicted in a matter-of-fact manner. Once the bus arrives at its destination, the women are brought before a burly Serbian soldier who loudly asks which ones can cook. Some raise their hands and a woman even answers that she can sew or do anything that is asked of her. The soldier steps close to her and asks if she ‘can f*ck’ before dragging her to a table to be raped in front of the others. Later, a group of soldiers take a number of women to a forest in which we assume they are to be killed but this is not the case as they use them as human shields while fighting a skirmish with Muslim guerilla fighters. Benjamin Franklin once said that ‘there is no such thing as a good war’ even when either side believes that they are fighting for an ideal. The minute you take up arms against your fellow man, any ideal has already been corrupted. Despite the estimated $10 million production budget and being shot in Hungary, the film looks like it was made for twice that amount with its scenes of a war-torn land full of rubble, garbage, and bodies. Detractors are free to call Jolie anything but ignorance is certainly not one of them. 

Where “In the Land of Blood and Honey” stumbles is in its script and Jolie should have brought in someone to give it a polish look-over. Some issues are minor as certain characters often inject a bit of a history lesson in their dialogue. It’s meant to show the built-up extreme nationalism ingrained in the Serbians but also to allow audiences to be brought up to speed for those who have forgotten or are not familiar with the conflict. Radio broadcasts (in English) are also heard whenever the film jumps forward in time which comes off as awkward. Why would anyone be listening to English radio broadcasts? The major issues are in the uneven pacing and the underdeveloped characters, specifically Ajla. The middle sections with Ajla falling in with a Bosnian resistance group are glossed over and her return to Danijel as his official painter tend to drag as if Jolie was unsure where to take the story. The film may spend a lot of time with Ajla but I came away learning little about her intentions. It is obvious she feels conflicted about her feelings with Danijel and wants to seek justice for her people but there’s little beyond that. Danijel is the more interesting character as his relationship with Ajla brings up several questions. Does his protection of Ajla mean he really loves her or is it just a pretense to use her sexually under a false façade? The relationship reminds me somewhat of the one depicted in Ang Lee’s 2007 erotic thriller “Lust, Caution” about a young woman in a sexual relationship with a Japanese collaborator in 1940s Japan-occupied Shanghai but in reality, she is part of a plot to assassinate him. However, Lee focused on the inner turmoil of the female character while Jolie has a broader focus. She wants to present the conflicting feelings that both main characters feel and point out the fact that the international community largely turned a blind eye until much of the fighting was already over. The film does not entirely succeed in accomplishing both goals but I admire the effort that Jolie put in and it really says something about her character. Finally, she also plays favorites and depicts the Serbs as largely sadistic and racist brutes while the Muslims come off as a likable ragtag band of guerilla fighters. While it is generally accepted that the Serbs were the aggressors and committed a majority of the war crimes, I do not believe that anyone was innocent in the war and I feel an objective approach would have made the film much more effective. 

The cast is made up of local Bosnian actors and actresses, a wise choice in maintaining a sense of authenticity. Although both English and foreign language versions were made, the former was scrapped leading up to the film’s release in favor of the latter, as it should be but of course, a small minority will still grumble about reading subtitles. The performances from Zana Marjanović and Goran Kostić are uniformly strong across the board, managing to make you feel the conflicting emotions that rage inside them even if the script does not do them as much justice as you would hope. Rade Šerbedžija is largely a one-note character as Danijel’s father, functioning as more of a mouthpiece on the Serbs history and how it has led to the people’s feelings of extreme nationalism. Some may recognize him from the television series “24” as he was one of the antagonists during Season Six. The only other person to have significant screen-time is Vanessa Glodjo as Ajla’s older sister Lejla but again she is underdeveloped and the only memorable scene is when she discovers the fate of her baby. It’s a shocking and powerful moment that will leave you speechless. 

In limited release since December 23, 2011, “In the Land of Blood and Honey” has received mixed reviews from critics with 52% on Rotten Tomatoes. The overall consensus is that the film is definitely well-made but the script has too many problems to ignore, which I agree, but I do not believe that it diminishes the overall message that Jolie wanted to leave for the audience. Initially, I had a hard time finding a theater that was showing the film but luckily, it expanded on the weekend of January 13th, 2012. There was a nice turn-out at the AMC Empire 25 but not enough to fill up all the seats. Box office wise, it has earned an estimated $262,300 which is on the low side but the per-theater average remains high. Still, a film like this will have limited appeal because first, it’s about a topic that many Americans are either ignorant of or only vaguely familiar with, second, it is in a foreign language with subtitles, and third, it is in limited release. For her first outing as a director, Angelina Jolie proves that she has the chops by bravely taking on a controversial topic and films like “In the Land of Blood and Honey” should be made to remind us of the horrible acts that men commit in war but it ultimately succumbs from a wayward script with underdeveloped characters. However, I still recommend this film if only for informative purposes about a conflict that continues to receive little attention in the United States. In an effort to raise awareness, Jolie does succeed.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (I debated a long time between a 3.5 and a 4 but ultimately went with the former as I could not justify giving that high of a score for what is an admirable but flawed film)

“It is murder…for political gain. But still murder.”