NO MAN'S LAND

No Man’s Land is a touching story that is able to portray war, as it truly is, with no fluff, fake, heroism that is found is most Hollywood war productions. This Bosnian-French-Italian-Belgian-Slovenian co-production produced a storyline that is able to provide a complete objective third party perspective of a complicated situation. The local ethnic conflict between the Bosnian and Serbian soldiers produced a very realistic account of how war continues to divide a nation, a nation that is not yet able or ready to come together to live in a peaceful co-existence manner. The film does an inspired job of showing how complicated ethnic conflict truthfully is in reality. The film shows all the various aspects of the conflict from the media, to the UN, to the fighting soldiers and how their actions continue to fuel this national conflict. The fighting that takes place among the trapped Bosnian and Serbian soldiers gives the viewer a glimpse of how warped the minds of humans can become as a result of years of conflict and war. In this particular incident the soldiers from both sides did not have a legitimate reason as to why they were fighting one another. Each gave the typical answer of the other side started it; they burned our villages and towns, etc. The only real thing that the soldiers believe in is the idea of hatred for their fellow brother. They only know that they should hate their enemy because they are their enemy and for that lone reason they deserve to die. This is a very intricate film that is full of lots of meaningful insight into how war actually works. I could go on about several other aspects of the film but I’ll leave you to actually see the film your self and be your own judge and critic

UNDERGROUND

The film, “Underground”, takes place during World War II when the German Nazi’s were occupying Yugoslavia. The film revolves around the interconnected and interlinked lives of the two main characters, Marko and Blacky. Blacky and Marko seem like psychiatric mentally ill ward patients who have escaped from the mental institution. Both characters are very eccentric when it comes to everything they do, how they do it and their facial expressions that accompany it. However, a friendship among comrades quickly shifts to a bitter rivalry over a theater actress, Natalija, and her love. Marko is able to thrive and become rich by misleading his best friend, Blacky, who remains hidden underground with fellow comrades. Blacky and the others are deceived by Marko and essentially conned into producing arms for the war’s resistance fighters providing easy and abundant amounts of cash for him and Natalija. Most of the cinematography in the film was done in high contrast. By high contrast, I mean that most of the lighting is very dark and the presence of shadows is prevalent in almost all the scenes. The film has a very natural feel compared to that of most Hollywood war productions. Emir Kusturica, the director of the film used what was made to look like actual footage from the war to be interconnected with the film. Little touches like that really help make the film so much more real, personable and easier for the audience to remember and relate too.

MY SASSY GIRL

The Korean hit film, My Sassy Girl, has put a twist on romantic comedies. Most romantic comedies have pretty straightforward storylines that require little if any actual thinking. Generally speaking, Hollywood went through a romantic comedy phase in the late 90’s, putting out such classic teen comedies as 10 Things I Hate About You and Whatever It Takes. Hollywood would use sub pare plots that would be sufficiently entertaining to the general public, allowing for a large fan base to arise. My Sassy Girl was a much more complex romantic comedy than those seen in the states. The entire movie revolved around a sassy, “drunk” girl who is never given a name and young male counterpart named Gyun-Woo. The sassy young woman at the beginning of the film was very demanding, carrying herself with a powerful presence. She was almost a bully to Gyun-Woo always making him do things he didn't necessarily want to do. What really maked this comedy hysterical at times was due to Gyun-Woo’s facial expressions. His expressions were so unique for specific moments that the audience couldn’t help but crack a smile. The most ridiculous but quite hilarious moment of the movie was when Gyun-Woo and the sassy young lady played racquetball and the ball always hit Gyun-Woo in the face. It wasn't just the fact that the racquetball kept hitting him in the face but his response to the incident both physically and verbally. However, as the movie progressed and the relationship between the two main characters matured the film took a drastic turn. It quickly shifted from light slapstick playfulness to deep emotional heartache. This type of dynamic twist really sets it apart from most romantic comedies seen today.