Grbavica (2007)
Grbavica (2007)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: An emotionally blunt and gripping drama, Grbavica deftly explores the emotional toll that all wars take upon those who survive them.
Grbavica Photos
Movie Info
Cast
as Esma
as Sara
as Pelda
as Samir
as Sabina
as Cenga
as Saran
as Puska
as Pelda's Mother
as Teacher Muha
as Jabolka
as Plema
as Jabolka
as Aunt Safja
as Dzemila
as Zehra
as Mirha
as Singer in the Center
as Singer In The Bar
as Classmate
as Vasvija
as Mila
as Maja
as Fadila
as Soldier
as Dancer
as Dancer
as Salesman
Critic Reviews for Grbavica
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (1) | DVD (5)
Grbavica increases in power as it progresses. It's a movie about the ways in which people yearn for healing and about the many obstacles that work to prevent it.
Like its music, the film's emotions proceed from lament to screaming screed to chorus of hope.
While Grbavica concerns a legacy of hatred, it's also optimistic about Bosnia's physical and emotional reconstruction. If the film's final image doesn't move you, you'd better check your pulse.
The portrayal of a wounded society is compelling, and the film ends on a very modestly hopeful note, appropriate for a country where the 'dreams' have been mostly painful.
The admirable feminist agenda occasionally trips up the narrative, but the film's performances keep it on track.
Grbavica is a film we watch with our heart in our mouth, wondering when, if ever, the war will end for those who lived through it and, at least physically, survived.
Audience Reviews for Grbavica
Grbavica delivers as a real-life family drama. It is refreshing to see acting more genuine than melodramatic, and yet still make for dramatic effect. The film may be a bit difficult to follow in places if you are unfamiliar with the culture (I am) but overall, the cultural aspect makes the film moreso interesting than confusing. All-in-all, Grbavica is a refreshing change from your typical studio films.
Super Reviewer
Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic made an excellent movie about the true story of woman during the war in former Yugoslavia. Many Bosnian women had been raped by Serb soldiers, and this movie showed this issue in an unusual way.The touching story was very simple but showed in a delicate way through the relationship of an abused mother and her rebel teenage daughter. All the performances were fantastic but Mirjana Karanovic as Esma and the direction of Jasmila Zbanic were awesome and the result of the movie will certainly makes me want to watch it twice."
Super Reviewer
[font=Century Gothic]In "Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams," Esma(Mirjana Karanovic), a survivor of the Bosnian Genocide, is a seamstress in Sarajevo by day who takes a night job as a waitress at a bar owned by Saran(Bogdan Diklic) to make ends meet. However, the second job still does not give her enough money to pay for her daughter Sara's(Luna Mijovic) field trip. So it helps that her friend Sabina(Jasna Ornela Beri) is willing to look after her daughter, even though like most teenagers, she is acting out. [/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]While "Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams" is not earth shattering, it is certainly compelling enough in its exploration of a country that is still trying to come together after the atrocities committed more than a decade before. It certainly does not help matters that Esma's generation refuses to speak about their experiences.(The only reason she attends group meetings is to collect a government check.) To the viewer, it may seem very clear what she has gone through but to her daughter with a limited sense of history, it is a totally different matter. And maybe that is what the field trip is meant to rectify.[/font]
Super Reviewer
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