myblogsucks After being raped by Serbs like too many other Muslim women in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first half of the 1990's, Esma is raising her daughter Sara to believe her father has died in a very important battle at Zuc defending Sarajevo under siege. The terrifying truth moves slowly to the surface and we get to see teenage Sara's self-image collapsing in front of her. Sara's teenage angst and rebellion is meaningful and her search for identity is more psychologically charged and reasoned than most of "I'm so bored of going to the mall every day and listening to my stupid hypocrite teachers and parents" Hollywood version of teenage angst. Her mother is trying to work and live as normal as possible, but her inner fears and unresolved issues only make her feel inadequate in the trivial, meaningless, pleasure-seeking world. Esma has to deal with the truth herself, has to say it out loud, face her daughter and find the strength to stop being a victim and enjoy her life as much as possible.

Roland E. Zwick Despite its romanticized, optimistic title, "Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams" actually takes place in a world of shell-shocked survivors. Nearly a decade after the end of the Balkans War, the citizens of Sarajevo (Grbavica is a quarter located in that city) are still attempting to pick up the pieces of their shattered psyches and somehow move on with their lives. Even as bodies are continually being unearthed in mass graves scattered throughout the area, and residents search desperately for remains of their missing loved ones, a veneer of "normalcy" has returned to the city, as citizens cope with the everyday concerns of earning a living, raising children, caring for aging parents, falling in love. Yet, the extent of the emotional scarring is still greatly in evidence: in women attending group therapy sessions designed to help them cope with their losses; in youngsters crowding into noisy nightclubs as a means of escaping the horrors of the past; and, most tellingly perhaps, in the use of dark humor and strangely inappropriate laughter as a major coping mechanism for the beleaguered survivors.Against this searing backdrop, "Grbavica" focuses on two main characters: Esma, a struggling seamstress who has lost a father and perhaps a husband in the war, and Sara, her teenaged daughter who, on top of the "growing pains" common to teens everywhere, has her own unique set of problems to deal with. One of those includes a major shocking secret about her father revealed late in the film. Mirjana Karanovic and Luna Mijovic, who make a completely convincing mother/daughter team, deliver heartrending, sensitive performances as the parent and child struggling in a world seemingly bereft of joy, hope and happiness, while Leon Lucev offers fine support as a potential love interest for the overburdened seamstress.Writer/director Jasmila Zbanic has fashioned a film that calls to mind the groundbreaking work by the Italian neo-realists of the post-World War II era. For despite the grimness of its setting, the film suggests that the healing process may have already begun for the nation as well as for its people, and that where there is life there is always hope. The very fact that "Grbavica" is an Austrian/Bosnian-Herzegovinian/German/Croatian co-production attests to that possibility.

M A This is a truly sad but beautiful masterpiece. We have heard so much about wars and atrocities that go with it. What about people who still have to live with all the nightmares and aftermaths of the atrocities on their own land, which they had once loved in an unrestrained and uninhibited manner but is now tainted with horror and sins? What have they done to deserve a life like this and what actually keeps them going but not giving up? Zbanic gives us the answer - it is love, the love of your family, the love of your home, despite it being a kind of contaminated, qualified and conflicting love which is eternally tainted with gruesome memories and haunting flashbacks. The nationalistic song sung by the students and in the end, an unsettled Sara, on the bus sums up this theme neatly and concisely.A very genuine and down-to-earth movie which speaks so much for itself and for the victims of war crimes who are and will still be living in a war of their own emotions for the rest of their lives. Besides, the direction is simplistic with a classy emotional twist powerfully built up to the climax of the scene of Esma's confession. The ending scene is a lifetime unforgettable. No words, just a song but it sums up what Sara has to feel and say perfectly. The acting is superb, expectedly from the veteran Karanovic and pleasantly surprisingly from the teenage Luna Mijovic.It is worth in the least Oscar nominations for the best director and the best foreign film . Go and watch it!

kosmasp This movie is not entertainment in the (Hollywood) main stream kind of meaning. You're not supposed to feel good about anything. Why should you, while watching a woman in her desperate attempts to lead a normal life after a war (balkan war) that destroyed so many homes? The answer is, you should feel her pain and that is the tricky part for the director and the script. Can they still hold their audience, while showing us raw and gritty life situations, where we might even hate the main character? The answer is yes! They can. But which is also a testament to the actress! Yes this is a drama, about the effects a war can have on people and how they try to deal with it ... and it is a good one at that!