In the Land of Blood and Honey

2011 | 127 minutes | Rated R

The tendency that often sinks Angelina Jolie’s performances—overemphasizing certain naturalistic behaviors at the expense of well-rounded characterization—more or less sinks her first film as writer-director. Set during the Bosnian War of the early 1990s, the movie depicts the secret romance between a Muslim woman (Zana Marjanovic) and a Serbian police officer (Goran Kostic) who’s drafted into Milosevic’s army. Jolie presents the characters in only the broadest of terms (at times, this might as well be a modern-dress version of Romeo and Juliet), but she surrounds them with enough well-observed cultural detail that the movie suffices as a history lesson. It’s also commendable for its sober depictions of concentration camps, which avoid the brute sensationalism of other atrocity dramas. With Rade Serbedzija, typecast but effective as a sadistic military officer. In Serbo-Croatian with subtitles. By Ben Sachs

Official Site: www.inthelandofbloodandhoney.com
Director: Angelina Jolie
Producer: Angelina Jolie, Graham King, Tim Headington and Tim Moore
Cast: Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic, Vanesa Glodjo, Rade Serbedzija, Boris Ler, Alma Terzic, Jelena Jovanova, Fedja Stukan, Nikola Djuricko, Aleksandar Djurica, Branko Djuric, Goran Jevtic, Jasna Bery, Ermin Bravo, Dzana Pinjo, Ermin Sijamija and Milos Timotijevic