petarmatic
There are only two films which I could say that they portray war in Sarajevo in an excellent manner. One is The Perfect Circle (1997), probably the best one, and the other one is this one. There are many other films made about war in Bosnia, but I do not agree that they come even close to these two.It is a pity that this film did not make it to the wider audiences (it was shown only in the North America). This way I invite distributors to show this film to the European audiences, especially in the former Yugoslavia.Europe is full of the geopolitical rifts and former Yugoslavia was full of them. Some of them do not materialize into war like for example Catalonia, others do like Ukraine.This film tried to put a human face on what was happening in Sarajevo during the war. It certainly did a great job! If you want to know what was happening during the war in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995 this a film to watch. Excellent work by all means!
Yazi
'Shot through the heart' turned up on HBO while I was bored killing time in a hotel. The title initially put me off - I nearly went to the gym instead. But when I realized from the initial Cranberries track that it wasn't going to be the usual made for HBO slushy American trash, I started watching. A powerful movie, not the usual war film, it explored the added horrors of a civil war with friends pitted against friends. The scene where the main character, a Moslem realiszes that it is former best friend and Olympic shooting hopeful, a Serb who is the sniper accounting for a lot of the civilian deaths in his neighborhood brings this home. I like a previous reviewer was involved in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and the gritty low-budget 'almost documentary' style gives this film an edge over other war films which usually fail to achieve such authenticity.
bigfoot2
This film explores the complex relationship between two men, one who is Christian, the other Moslem, in war-torn Bosnia. In my attempt to understand how people who live side-by-side could brutalize and murder each other, "Shot Through The Heart" was an unsettling opportunity to gain some insight into a confusing and disturbing conflict. I am sure that many people in the United States have little point of reference with which to compare what is depicted in the film to our everyday life. Having read about the conflict in Bosnia, and studied Balkan history, I know, abstractly, of the age-old conflicts there. What this film did for me was to depict, in a very visceral way, the insanity of old hatreds that, bubbling to the surface, turn what should be abnormal, into the normal; society turned upside down. To see people sublimate their humanity to base and inhuman themes of ethnic purity raises the question to all of us; can we shed ourselves of all our prejudices and truly love our neighbor?
Dana Wang
This film made a tremendous impact on me. I am stunned, overwhelmed and profoundly moved. Watching this remarkable photoplay, my emotion is intense. It immediately reminded me of a nonfiction book I had read about the war in Bosnia, it feels like all the things described in that book come to life. It's shocking.All the events depicted in this movie ACTUALLY HAPPENED. Children getting killed by pieces of shrapnel, friends being on opposite sides and their friendships being torn apart by the war, losing your family, friends, neighbors, attending one and yet another funeral of someone you knew, people being shot while they carry water...my heart broke when I watched these cruel facts portrayed in this impassioned work. It is so true to life that I felt as if I was there, witnessing the whole thing.Based upon a true story, "Shot Through the Heart" is about a life long friendship between two marksmen who are residents in Sarajevo. When the war breaks out, Vlado, a Muslim, and Slavko, a Serb, are on opposite sides and eventually, they will have to face each other. People in Sarajevo used to live peaceful and carefree lives, now their lives become tragedies all because of this hideous war.History, the sense of retaliation and false beliefs make human beings turn into killing machines. War is destruction and agony. If only we could realize it and remember the lessons we've learned. If only we could reach world peace sooner.This war drama is finely filmed, and the acting is very believable. The movie helps us understand more about the ex-Yugoslavia war that took place in the early nineties and makes us think about it, how wars affect people and the importance of making peace. I heartily recommend this film to anybody who is interested in what happened in Sarajevo.
AD
