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Movies / On DVD / Witnesses
Witnesses

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Witnesses (2003)

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Reviews Counted:10

Fresh:9

Rotten:1

Average Rating:6.7/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 88 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 30, 1999 Limited

Synopsis: A man is murdered when three soldiers unexpectedly find him at home while they are planting a hate bomb. After blowing up his house, the young men discover someone has witnessed everything. With... A man is murdered when three soldiers unexpectedly find him at home while they are planting a hate bomb. After blowing up his house, the young men discover someone has witnessed everything. With the witness locked in a basement garage, the youngest of the panicky soldiers runs to his mother for help. Mourning over her husband's coffin, she promises to protect the three friends. With the support of their shady politician uncle, they'll be safe as long as no one talks. The Police Investigation takes over the small town in Croatia on the front line of the civil war. Half the town wanted the man dead, especially since his origins lie on the other side. Everyone has his or her personal interests a heart while the fate of the witness is left hanging: an honest policeman must back off on his investigation to try and save his dying wife. A journalist could become too personally involved in her search for a story. A soldier -- someone's son, someone's boyfriend -- will return home from the front with terrible secrets. Sometimes a story must be relived through various viewpoints before the truth can be revealed. -- © Film Movement [More]

Starring: Mirjana Karanovic

Starring: Mirjana Karanovic

Director: Vinko Bresnan

Director: Vinko Bresnan
Studio: Film Movement

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 1, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Witnesses

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Bristling with emotional intensity, this is far superior to earlier AIDS-related dramas.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
10/19/07
Tom Dawson
Tom Dawson
BBC

Witnesses takes us back to the turmoil in the Balkans. But the movie is not directly about the war. It's a cleverly told murder mystery.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
08/26/05
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Spanning a year beginning in the summer of 1984, The Witnesses offers the considerable satisfaction of a beautifully acted ensemble piece built on the foundation of a serious subject%u2014the dawn of the AIDS crisis%u2014handled just so.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
05/15/08
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Téchiné captures the changing attitudes of the times but some characters feel too peripheral.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/19/07
Patrick Peters
Patrick Peters
Empire Magazine

An engaging if somewhat inchoate drama set in the early years of Aids.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
10/19/07
Karl French
Karl French
Financial Times

More than a thriller, the film is a portrait of the passions that drive ordinary people to kill and even worse, to accept the killing as something honorable.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
05/20/05
Marta Barber
Marta Barber
Miami Herald

Techine never lapses into morbid sentimentality and it's interesting for a film to put the horror of AIDs in the 1980s in the perspective of a viewpoint 20-odd years on.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
10/19/07
Tim Evans
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

The occasional voiceover from Béart and a slightly mournful score from Philippe Sarde offer some sense of lament, but mostly this unfolds in the moment and is urgent and engaging.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
10/19/07
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out

A lively, timely flashback to the early days of AIDS with this character-driven drama.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
10/19/07
Ian Johnston
Ian Johnston
Total Film

Bresan captures the atmosphere of the Croatian war effectively and offers an insider's view about the complex situation.

Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
03/01/05
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
ToxicUniverse.com
 
 
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