vanillabean349 While it is at times extremely troubling to watch, As If I Am Not There is a startlingly realistic depiction of the Bosnian War. From scenes of whole villages being rounded up and the men murdered, to women being raped and brutalized by soldiers in secluded camps, this movie does an excellent job of representing the types of depravity that took place in the early 1990s. Wilson does not base Samira's story on a specific case, but uses her character to represent an amalgamation of testimonies from survivors. In this way, the events of the movie are not necessarily a 100% accurate representation of a single person's experiences, but they include some of the terrible conditions and actions that these survivors had to endure. For instance, the practice of trading sexual acts for better treatment, food, or living conditions was not necessarily unheard of, but was a means of survival, not pleasure. In the film, Samira's relationship with the Captain causes the viewer to question Samira's moral involvement in the despicable treatment of her fellow inmates. In a similar way, Samira's seemingly compliant attitude and lack of opposition to the Serb forces has drawn some criticism for the film. However, in a women's camp where Samira was kept separate from the majority of the other inmates, it is unlikely that this expectation of a rebellion or opposition would have been possible, and could have even led to greater harm. It is difficult to make moral decisions in situations like those portrayed in this film, and I appreciate this realism to a great extent. It is not flashy, or thrilling, but in this way, it avoids over-dramatization that often cheapens the message of similar movies. In addition to the relative accuracy of events, this film also makes an attempt to depict the complexity of the conflict. Throughout the movie, Wilson includes scenes that seem to humanize the Serbian soldiers, and show that these men were not just monsters, but men, friends of brothers, husbands, and fathers. This did not make me any more sympathetic toward their characters, but this effort hints to the multi-faceted nature of this conflict, and attempts to mitigate the antagonism placed on the Serbian army. During the conflict, Bosniak Muslims, Croats, and Serbians were all victims and aggressors, but the Bosnian War is often presented only as a story of Serbian aggressors committing terrifying atrocities against Bosnian Muslims. This perspective is a very significant piece of the history to recognize, but it is important to realize that it is far from black-and-white. Overall, this movie does a tremendous job with communicating this part of history in a powerfully realistic way, and I encourage anyone who is interested in watching it to do so.

erinaurielhendry As If I Am Not There is an extremely powerful film which accurately portrays life in a camp during a period of conflict. The film also confronts the narrative that all victims must be the "perfect victim" in order to receive sympathy. Set in the Bosnian countryside during the Bosnian War, the film does not shield the viewer from any of the horrors of the war. Several sequences within the film such as the scene depicting the routine killing of men of fighting age are incredibly difficult to watch. When the women are held at the camp, they are subject to numerous humiliation tactics, and several are sexually exploited. While the scenes are difficult to watch, they are representative of what a normal woman's experience within a camp would be like. The gravity of the scenes is aided by the lack of dialogue and the impressive performance by Natasa Petrovic, the lead actress. The lack of dialogue adds a certain gravity to the experiences of the women as there is very little that can be said about their experience; it can only be expressed through action. Petrovic performance demonstrates the impact conflicts have upon civilians, in particular victims of rape. She is able to convey feeling of both vulnerability and intense fear through her expressive body language and facial expressions. During her period of internment, Petrovic's character Samira has to make difficult decisions about what actions she must take in order to survive. Samira engages in survival sex with the captain who runs her internment camp which is a decision heavily scrutinized by her fellow captives. This part of the film demonstrates that in order to survive in internment camp one usually has to engage in some morally questionable practices. Many Hollywood films which attempt to portray life within camps often portray the victim as both helpless and blameless. As If I Am Not There allows for the viewer to have a greater understanding of the moral dilemmas that emerge within the camp setting. Lastly, the film ends on an extremely powerful and profound note. While most films about surviving atrocities end on uplifting sentiments that supposedly speak to the strength of the human spirit, As If I Am Not There displays how one is permanently impacted by a camp experience. Samira has escaped Bosnia, but the war remains ever present in her life and directly impacts all of her experiences. The ending shows that intense trauma never really fades and leaves the viewer emotionally unsettled.

Amelia Earhart "As If I'm Not There" realistically portrays the female-in-combat/camp narrative and the themes that come with it, including enduring the camp experience past its physical confines and a realistic victim who makes questionable choices. Juanita Wilson makes a smart choice to not end the movie when the camp is liberated, instead tracing just the beginning of Samira's hard journey of enduring and "recovering". The journey from camp to liberation in some ways replicates the camp life as it still makes people feel powerless and somewhat like animals. When Samira and the other women have to cross the river and hill to transfer to another set of busses, there is the real possibility that the women could've been shot and killed since they were still at the power of the army men with the guns. When Samira learns that she is pregnant and cannot abort the baby, the infant becomes a physical reminder of the sexual violence she experienced, and we see her struggle to decide whether or not she wants to deal with the pain of the memories of the camp or the pain of the camp plus giving up a baby. Not only that, but the idea of a "perfect victim" is squashed as we realize there may not be just good or just bad people in the world. Samira starts out as the innocent school teacher who moves from the big city to a small village who is then captured by the Serbian army and taken to a rape camp, but we see her egoism when she takes back her sexuality to attract the Captain, one of her captors. The captain himself is portrayed as not necessarily all bad, as he's still a man with a family, even if he may also be a monster. Overall, the main pull of this movie is that the audience gets to experience the realness of how a camp can function as a form of social engineering. While there is little dialogue, we feel every emotion Samira feels through her body language and facial expressions as she is thrown into the worst of situations and must endure, not necessarily overcome. Especially for people who know little about the Balkans in the 1990s or about camps in general, this is a great introduction to the harsh realities people faced and continue to face today. Especially since the lives of women during and post-war are rarely mentioned, this is a powerful piece that deserves more recognition for what it successfully portrays.

ofratko I kinda knew what to expect. The war in Bosnia was brutal. They didn't care about Geneva Conventions( I don't think they even heard about them) Rape was the instrument of the war by all sides. Thousands of Bosnian women were raped. There are many war movies but I think this movie is unique because it shows rape victims of war. Natasha Petrovic is incredible in this movie. Her eyes revealed everything every feeling. Hope to see her in different movie soon. And having read the book from Slavenka Drakulic I have to say that Juanita did great job. She didn't put blame on any side. You don't see army insignias and don't hears speeches about who started the war. You just see how innocent suffer in the war. This movie is very hard to watch and there are parts were you might even close your eyes. But it also shows strength of human being in midst of madness As a women I had to think what would I do in Samira's place. And probably the answer will be everything necessary in order to survive