No Man's Land (2001 film)
No Man's Land | |
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![]() DVD cover | |
Directed by | Danis Tanović |
Written by | Danis Tanović |
Produced by | Cédomir Kolar Marc Baschet Frédérique Dumas-Zajdela |
Starring | Branko Đurić Rene Bitorajac Filip Šovagović |
Cinematography | Walther vanden Ende |
Edited by | Francesca Calvelli |
Music by | Danis Tanović |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Océan Films (France) Rai Cinema (Italy) United Artists (US) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Countries | Bosnia and Herzegovina France Slovenia Italy United Kingdom Belgium |
Languages | English French Bosnian Croatian Serbian German |
Budget | FRF 14 million |
Box office | USD$4,858,869[2] |
No Man's Land (Bosnian: Ničija zemlja) is a 2001 war film that is set in the midst of the Bosnian war. The film is a parable and marked the debut of Bosnian writer and director Danis Tanović. It is a co-production among companies in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Italy, France, Belgium and the UK. The film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2001.
Plot
Two wounded soldiers, a Bosniak (Čiki, portrayed by Branko Đurić) and a Bosnian Serb (Nino, portrayed by Rene Bitorajac) are caught between their lines in the no man's land, in a struggle for survival. The two soldiers confront each other in a trench, where they wait for dark. They trade insults and even find some common ground. Confounding the situation is another wounded Bosniak soldier (Cera, portrayed by Filip Šovagović) who wakes from unconsciousness. A land mine had been buried beneath him by the Bosnian Serbs; should he make any move, it would be fatal.
A French sergeant (Marchand, portrayed by Georges Siatidis), of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), gets involved in effort to help the three trapped soldiers, despite initial orders to the contrary by high command. UNPROFOR's mission in Bosnia was to guard the humanitarian aid convoys, to remain neutral and act as a mere bystander. Luckily, an English reporter arrives on scene, bringing media pressure to bear that moves the United Nations high command to swing into action to try to save the soldiers.
A row between the stressed out and fatigued Čiki and Nino gradually escalates even after being rescued. Eventually, Čiki shoots Nino and is in turn shot by a Peacekeeper. Meanwhile, it is found that the mine cannot be defused. The UNPROFOR high command tries to save face: they lie, saying that Cera has been saved and they leave the area, along with the reporters and everyone else.
In reality, Cera is left alone and desolate in the trenches, still immobilized by the mine. Meanwhile, the UNPROFOR commander has arranged false information to be passed to both Bosnian and Serb troops, to make them believe their enemies will be trying to reoccupy the trench at night (which each side would try to counter with an artillery barrage that presumably will kill Cera and obliterate the evidence).
Cast
- Branko Đurić - Čiki
- Rene Bitorajac - Nino
- Filip Šovagović - Cera
- Georges Siatidis - Sergeant Marchand
- Serge-Henri Valcke - Captain Dubois
- Sacha Kremer - Michel
- Alain Eloy - Pierre
- Mustafa Nadarević - Older Serbian soldier
- Bogdan Diklić - Serbian officer
- Simon Callow - Colonel Soft
- Katrin Cartlidge - Jane Livingstone, journalist
- Tanja Ribič - Martha
- Branko Završan - Deminer
Accolades
- Best Foreign Language Film, 2001 74th Academy Awards
- Best Foreign Language Film, 2001 Golden Globe Awards
- Best Screenplay Award, European Film Academy
- Best Screenplay, 2001 Cannes Film Festival[3]
No Man's Land won Prix du scénario at the Cannes Film Festival, followed by numerous awards, including the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2001, while in competition with French Amélie and the Indian blockbuster Lagaan. Tanović was presented the Oscar by John Travolta and Sharon Stone. Briefly after, Tanović thanked everyone who worked with him on the film and supported its creation. He ended his acceptance speech by saying, "This is for my country".
In total, No Man's Land won 42 awards, including the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, the European Film Academy Award for Best Screenplay, the André Cavens Award, the César Award for Best Debut in 2001 and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2002.
References
- ^ "No Man's Land - Trailer". fabrica.com. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ^ No Man's Land at Box Office Mojo
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: No Man's Land". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
External links
- 2001 films
- 2000s comedy-drama films
- 2000s war films
- Bosnia and Herzegovina films
- French films
- Italian films
- British films
- Belgian films
- English-language films
- French-language films
- Bosnian-language films
- German-language films
- Films directed by Danis Tanović
- Anti-war films
- Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners
- Best First Feature Film César Award winners
- Bosnian War films
- Political satire films
- Black comedy films
- Films about the United Nations
- War drama films
- United Artists films
- Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Film winners
- British drama films