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Grbavica: the Land of My Dreams

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Bosnian war, though recent, has been almost forgotten due to rapidly unfolding conflicts in the Middle East. This fact does not diminish the severity of the Bosnian conflict, nor does it diminish the scars this conflict left on the population of this small Balkan country.

Grbavica is a quarter of the Bosnian capital, close to pretty much everything. During the war in Bosnia, Grbavica was occupied by the Serb irregulars, from which they shelled the surrounding quarters of Hrasno, Trg Pere Kosorica, Pofalici and others. Immediately after the peace agreement, the irregulars withdrew, leaving behind destruction in the lives of those they occupied.

Mirjana Karanovic presents a brilliant performance as a single mother trying to survive in Sarajevo's almost bankrupt economy by working impossible hours in a shoe factory during the day, and in a bar during the night. Widowed because of the war, she receives support from the government, which is enough to pay for a few groceries. Karanovic is content to continue caring for her daughter, and asks for nothing but peace and quiet.

As Karanovic's character's daughter comes into her teenage years, questions about her father, a shaheed (literally translated shaheed means "witness", but is a title given to a fallen fighter), questions which Karanovic is not prepared (and not able) to answer. As the story unfolds, it not only becomes a story of survival in a meagre economy, but that of emotional survival of the past, and the survival of the future that past may bring. It is now that we are shown the true struggle - the one within, the one dealing with shame and guilt and regret.

An excellent movie, as far as small budget movies go, "Grbavica..." is a well told story that could describe anyone in Bosnia. Very hard to relate to, Sarajevan life is defined by the war, and everything is measured by the war. In order to better understand the sentiments of the film, one would need to have at least the basic understanding of the conflict in the Balkans. Highly recommended to all not seeking a Hollywoodized account, as the "Land of My Dreams" part of the title refers to the inherent hope that is the only driving force in such horrifying circumstances.

"Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams" is a film that opened in Chicago near the beginning of the year. It didn't last in theaters very long and judging by the amount of reviews written here on amazon, no one would seem to care. How sad. Here is an emotional, yet devoid of being overly sentimental, well-written, well acted film by a young director making her feature film debut, Jasmila Zbanic.

The time is right after the ethnic cleansing of the former Yugoslavia. A single mother, Esma (Mirjana Karanovic) lives with her 12 year old daughter, Sara (Luna Mijovic) who is a bit of a trouble-maker. She has strong tom-boy qualities to her. Their relationship is strained. They have moments when they get along, but the viewer can tell there are secrets between the two which create some friction and keeps them at a certain distance.

Sara has grown up believing her father was a shaheed, a war martyr, who died for Bosnia. When her class is about to go on a school trip, children of shaheed's will get a discount rate. Esma must show proof that her husband died, even though the body has yet to be discovered.

We rarely hear Esma talk about Sara's father, despite Sara's eagerness to hear about him. When Sara tries to bring up the past Esma quickly attempts to change the subject.

At the heart of "Grbavica" is a story about the past, finding one's roots and the effects war has not only on the land, but the psychological effects it has.

Another film from Eastern Europe came out some time after this film from Romania entitled "12:08 East of Bucharest", it too is one of the year's best films, which no one has seen. It seems the mood in Eastern European cinema is to take us back to the past. I suppose enough time has past where people can now look at certain tramatic events; the Romanian revolution, the Bosnian war, and attempt to put things into a certain perspective.

"Grbavica" is not a flashy film. It seems to have been shot with lower quality camera equipment. But, that is besides the point. The film carries an emotional truth rarely seen in films, regardless of country of origin. No grand gestures or cheap cinematic devices are used in the film to stir our emotions. The film plays everything straight. We seems to be getting a small glimpse at this family trying to survive. That is a lot easier said than done. How many films can make everyday events interesting?

The film has gone on to win several film festival nominations and awards. It won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated at Sundance. I hope director Jasmila Zbanic is able to make several films in the future. Even though the audience for this film has been small, I think it is one of the year's best.

Bottom-line: Effective film dealing with the past, one's roots and the aftermath of war. Well acted, and written. Strong emotions but not overly sentimental. One of the year's best.

Deftly handled theme that just might move certain viewers to tears.
Needed to be told.
The mindless war in and around Sarajevo accomplished but one thing: scarred a nation
and left its survivors to do their best to heal the wounds and live life to the best of their
ability.

Terrific cast, writing and direction. Important films like this must be made by Indies--any way that they can scrounge up the financing--because Hollywood simply fails more often than not.

And as far as charismatic Luna Mijovic is concerned...I just hope she wins the Oscar one day!
Loved the young woman's work in this unforgettable motion picture.

The story of "Grbavica" follows a single mother Esma (Mirjana Karanovic) and her 12-year-old daughter Sara (Luna Mijovic) living quietly in the post-war Sarajevo. (The film's title "Grbavica" refers to a district of the city of Sarajevo.)

Sara is looking forward to joining in a school trip. She knows the children of Shaheed or war martyr do not have to pay, but they need to turn in a certificate to the school beforehand. Remembering that her mother said her dead father was a Shaheed, Sara asks Esma to give her a certificate, but Esma would rather pay full price, and keeps working hard at seedy night club....

Set in today's Sarajevo, "Grbavica" is an arresting love story of mother and daughter. (In her message to Iwanami Hall in Japan where the film was shown, director Jasmila Zbanic said the film is about love.) But besides the loving (and vulnerable) relations between mother and daughter, the film is also about the war and its aftermath, and Mirjana Karanovic's superb acting as Esma with a secret effectively tells the tragic story of war without being preachy.

"Grbavica" has also sub-plots about Esma and Pelda (Leon Lucev), mysterious bouncer hired by the club where Esma works, and about strong-minded Sara and her boyfriend. These supporting characters are largely credible with excellent performances even though several episodes should have been left in the cutting room, such as characters carrying a loaded handgun.

The simple and emotional story, I think, needs more time to be told especially in the wrap-up. Maybe Sara wanted to say something more to her mother, but perhaps it should be left unsaid. Whatever it is, it is told beautifully in her last action that is moving and touching, just like the film itself.

This movie is set on Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As you Know, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a part of former Yugoslavia. Former Yugoslavian movies are special for me because these told me that how great movies are existing over the world. Before I watched these 3 movies: Underground, ULYSSES' GAZE and Before The Rain, I had thought only Hollywood makes great movies. the 3 movies made me turn to anti-Hollywood.
As it is told, "7 neighbor neighbor, 6 republic, 5 ethnicity, 4 languages, 3 religions and 2 characters," this region has developed complicatedly, and such a complication might contribute to create the movies that express the complication of this world.


This is the story about a conflict between a single mother and her daughter, and this tells what the Bosnia war brought about to people. Ten Years have past already from the war, so the city was retrieved and it looks normal, but the war actually left big trauma and scars on people's heart. During the war, Esma got involved a incident, and it is her trauma. Furthermore, it relates to the secret of Sara's birth. the trauma makes Esma feel complicated emotion toward her daughter. Love, hatred, despair.....Sara also builds anger up to her mother who never tells about her father.

You might think such a conflict is banal, but the unseen scars of the war makes it more complicated and hurt.

I saw this totally non-Hollywood dramatization of the impact of war-rape on a mother and daughter today, and can only utterly recommend it. Beautful, believable and moving. Loved it.

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.

It was almost 25 years ago that Mirjana Karanovic made her appearance in one of the first movies of her career. Until this movie, I have not seen her perform - so I considered this film to be a treat -- to see this talented actress on screen again. And yes, in one part of the movie, the director seems to be paying her a tribute. (Mirjana showed her breasts on screen 25 years ago which created scandal in former Yugoslavia. Director at one moment is showing Ukranian prostitute character wash her breasts in preparation for the night out.) This is a story about lives interrupted by the civil war. Now middle aged generation caught up in the war of former Yugoslavia is cruelly reminded of what might have been. Their college education interrupted, degrees unfinished, ongoing misery of post civil war unemployment, thugs with no scrupules running around the city, making their own rules of conduct and imposing them on others. In the middle of all that there is a story of single mother, doing her best to provide for her spoiled daughter and her small but dependable circle of girlfriends who share main character's guilt, shame and desperate need for emotional release. Movie feels rushed and story has a great potential, but needs lots of refinement. The other issue is that this movie rings familiar only to the audience familiar with Bosnia, the culture of the region and city of Sarajevo (Grbavica is the muslim part of that town). It is hard to pinpoint what message director wanted us to hear: is this coming of age story, story of reconciliation of the victim(s) of rape, story of motherly love or story about lives damaged by war that brought all parties involved nothing but misery for the next several generations?

trinie dalton, (or whatever the name it is),writer of amazon review said that grbavica provides viewers a glimpse into daily Croatian life!!!
Croatian life??
Sarajevo is capitol of Bosnia and Herzegovinia.
Croatia has nothing to do with this movie.
Also Croatian language is not language that should be listed.
Bosnian language is official language in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
You ignorant bastard.

Sadly, there were some 50,000 Bosniak/Bosnian Muslim women raped during the agression on Bosnia by the agressors in many concentration camps.
This movie shows just one story. There are some 49,999 just like this one if not worse.