No Man's Land (2001 film)

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No Man's Land

Directed by	Danis Tanović
Produced by	Čedomir Kolar
Written by	Danis Tanović
Starring	Branko Đurić Rene Bitorajac Filip Šovagović
Distributed by	MGM Distribution Co.
Release date(s)	12 May 2001 (premiere at Cannes) 28 September 2001 10 October 2001 7 December 2001 (NYC only) 14 December 2001 (LA only) 8 December 2001 17 May 2002
Running time	98 mins
Language	Bosnian
IMDb profile

No Man's Land (Bosnian: Ničija Zemlja) is a war drama that is set in the midst of the Bosnian war in 1993. The film is a parable with a tone of ironic black comedy. The film marked the debut of writer and director Danis Tanović. The film is a co-production between companies in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Italy, France, Belgium and the UK.

No Man's Land has been compared to The Good Soldier Švejk, Catch-22, M*A*S*H and Waiting for Godot for containing equal parts of irony and futility.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Two wounded soldiers, one Bosniak (Čiki, played by Branko Đurić) and one Serb (Nino, played by Rene Bitorajac) are caught between their lines in the no man's land, in a struggle for survival. The two soldiers confront each other in a trench, where they wait for dark. They trade insults and even find some common ground. Confounding the situation is another wounded Bosniak soldier (Cera, played by Filip Šovagović) who wakes from unconsciousness. A landmine had been buried beneath him by the Bosnian Serbs. Should he make any move, it would be fatal. A French sergeant, of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), gets involved in effort to help the three trapped soldiers, despite initial orders to the contrary by high command. UNPROFOR's mission in Bosnia was to guard the humanitarian aid convoys, to remain neutral and act as more a bystander. However, an English reporter arrives on scene, bringing media pressure to bear that moves the United Nations high command to swing in to action to try to save the soldiers. A small row between the stressed out and fatigued Ciki and Nino gradually escalates and finally results in both killing each other, even after being rescued. On the other hand, when it is found that the mine cannot be defused, the high command plays a wicked game to save face and Cera is left desolated, awaiting his end.