In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)

In its duration, director/writer Angelina Jolie's "In the Land of Blood and Honey" is open with visuals of grimness, macabre, and will likely leave you in state of utter discomfort. The focus of the film is set in the war between the Serbs and the Croats that ran rampant between 1992-1995 as we are treated to brutal murders, heart-breaking rapes and cringe-worthy malice that will make your stomach green with pain as the violence is plenty and never turns back. Alja (Zana Marjanović) is a Muslim Bosnian artisan was forced into sex slavery at a Serbian troop headquarters as she's soon becomes saved by a dashing young Serbian soldier named Danijel (Goran Kostic) whom she befriended prior to the chaos. I can respect Jolie's decision to refrain from making the chaos a spectacle, but the love story implemented into the story adds flames to the fume while the malice is happening.While lingering onto Danijel's arms for her protection, Ajla is in a bind between whether Danijel is her soulmate or just his property. Danijel has opposed to fight with the Serbs as they were incapacitating the the Bosnian Muslims, though he still has to maintain his loyalty under the rule of his general father. While Ajla is being condemned by the other soldiers, Danijel stands there idly looking on. The feeling of unease becomes vital to Ajla as she put in a subservient position while Danijel expresses emotional rage regarding the fears surrounding him even to the point of pinning her to the bed and tying her arms on the bed posts with a belt and is about to rape her which shows he can be quite as tyrannical as his fellow soldiers.Jolie succeeds is making the violence hardcore while keeping the torn apart lovers romantic tale in tact. There is no apologies to the raping and carnage depicted here while the Serb troops are looked as the lesser of two evils. Civilians are gathered to sign petitions regarding their belongings to the troops. The men are shot, the babies are dropped off the balconies and the ladies are sent to sex slavery. These grim settings are seen through the eyes of Ajla's sister Lejla (Vanessa Glodjo) who abandoned the city with her baby daughter.Sure her humanitarian contributions can never be denied, Jolie doesn't neglect that this love story is set in the middle of a war, while also showing her disdain for international organizations and the United Nations for neglecting the war as the Balkans fell to defeat. With a cast primarily of Bosnian extraction and the use of dialects, the movie scores high points in terms of authenticity. In spite of the chaos the cinematography is quite impressive making us think we have not seen the end of Jolie's directing career.The main flaw about this film is the conflict between Ajla and Danijel which feels like a war within itself. Danijel wants to remain honourable towards his father and doesn't want to be a failure to him. But he's still has signs of him that can be fully sympathized. Ajla is just his sex toy and yet she invites herself to be that way. The movie shows no apologies when its marred with oppression. The tyranny of the human race is right in your face it can be overwhelming. And the rough relationship between Ajla and Danijel does little to help soften the nastiness that's around them.The talented Jolie shows she has potential as a director and writer is all there and even though there's flaws aplenty, the intentions are good. The love story in the movie reflects equally to the horrors of the Bosnian War which at times will leave a bit at times uncomfortable. The war depicted here is unsettling and really enough to leave you sickened. The film is strong is storytelling, but very distracting

In the Land of Blood and Honey passed almost unnoticed among viewers and critics alike, except in the countries that emerged from the former Yugoslavia, where it created a considerable controversy.In order to understand this, we'd have to explain the history of Balkans and origins of civil war that led to the collapse of Yugoslavia. But even the executive summary of such a story would take up more time than Angelina Jolie's feature film directorial debut.So if you ignore historical background and accuracy, this is essentially a bad movie. The script is idiotic and acting mediocre. In order to make the movie more realistic the characters talk in English with local dialect. This might be convincing to the average viewer but sounds stupid to anyone who knows this part of the world.The only good thing is the atmosphere at the beginning of the conflict, where most of the people believed the war would be over in a matter of weeks.I find it remarkable that a star like Angelina Jolie devotes her times to humanitarian work and tells the world the untold stories of human suffering. At the same time it is regrettable that such stories are biased according to the current dogma envisioned by international politics and media. According to that, it is crystal clear who the good guys are and they should be absolved from all wrongdoing. On the other hand, for the supposed misdeeds of the bad guys the whole population of their country should be punished until eternity.This is black-and-white image of the world which, in my opinion, is against the founding principles of UNHCR, where Angelina Jolie holds a distinguished post.

I thought this film was incredible, especially for a first time writer and director. The film was dark and reminiscent of many foreign art films that I have seen in the past. There weren't many spoken words but the visuals entranced and kept my eyes essentially glued to the screen.I criticize some of the user reviews that state that Jolie did not know her material that well or the history. She spent time doing research before filming as well was working with crew and actors/actresses that lived through that time period and or had close ties. If you're looking for a complete history lesson of that time, it won't be seen here as this is just one small piece of a possibility.A very beautiful, very moving film as well as eye-opening to some of the horrors of war in general and what is reminiscent to that period of time.

The story was sequenced without actual lead. No reality was involved, in one scene Aila was brutally raped in next she looks happy and having sex with her loving man etc. There are traces of true but whole story of Bosnian war was completely simplified. This looks like a bad copy of Emir Kusturica movie "Life is a miracle" 2004. Angelina Jolly should look this movie and she wouldn't probably never made this film. At the end it looks like somebody ordered cheap story for daily use. Pity! On the other hands actors did professional job. Scenes and environment are very realistic and authentic. Music is somehow out of story. I think that scenario had potential but with lot of changes and adjustment.