Grbavica (2006)
Genre: Drama
Duration: 90 minuten
Alternative titles: Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams / Sarajevo My Love / Esma's Secret
Country:
Bosnia and Herzegovina / Croatia / Austria / Germany
Directed by: Jasmila Zbanic
Stars: Mirjana Karanovic, Luna Mijović and Leon Lučev
IMDb score:
7,2 (7.159)
Releasedate: 1 March 2006
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Grbavica plot
Single mother Esma lives with her 12-year-old daughter Sara in the Grbavica district of Sarajevo, where life is still dominated by reconstruction after the Yugoslav war. Esma visits the women's support group in Sarajevo. The social worker encourages the women to talk about their grief, but Esma keeps her mouth shut. She only appears on the days when the financial aid is forgiven. To make ends meet, Esma takes a job as a waitress at a nightclub. Sara becomes best friends with Samir. They have a close bond, partly because both lost their father in the war. But Samir is surprised that Sara does not know the details about her father's death. When Sara needs a certificate as proof that her father is a war victim, in order to get a discount on the costs of a school trip, Esma does not want to request that certificate. She says it's better for Sara and for herself.
Actors and actresses
Esma
Sara
Pelda
Samir
Sabina
Čenga
Saran
Profesor Muha
Peldina majka / Pelda's Mother
Puška
Reviews & comments
arno74
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- 8700 messages
- 3342 votes
Strong film about post-war Bosnia with good acting. The scars of the war are still clearly visible, although the term open wound may be more appropriate. The only downside may be that you can see the "denouement" coming for miles, but that is actually not so strange since the film is largely told from Esma's point of view, and he knows how it works, so that you as a viewer are there. also very quickly. So I don't think the denouement is meant as a kind of twist at all. The story is presented calmly and cleverly, with many beautiful scenes, also for what you don't see, such as the absence of a whole generation of murdered Muslim men. Over 3.5*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Dievegge
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- 3180 messages
- 8228 votes
A decade after the Bosnian Civil War, the wounds are far from healed. Mirjana Karanovic taunts a woman with pent-up sadness. In the room of her somewhat boyish daughter Sara, posters of Western stars hang, but she is also confronted with the unprocessed war history of her own country.
Certain terms you need to know to be able to follow. An shahid is an Islamic martyr who died a hero's death during the war. Chetniks is a term of abuse for Serbian nationalists, a term that dates back to the Second World War, when pro-royal Serbs started to collaborate with the Germans. Grbavica (pronounced Gr-bá-vi-tsa) is a neighborhood in Sarajevo where women have been systematically raped since 1992. The denouement is not surprising, but no less gruesome. A foreshadowing is when Esma has a breakdown at the sight of pawing at the strip club.
Jasmila Žbanić shows an unvarnished portrait of the problems in her young country. The English title comes from the song at the end.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
Fascinating film set during the aftermath of the Yugoslav civil war. Mother Esma and daughter Sara lack a father figure in the family and that leads to mutual tension. The father was killed during the civil war and that gives him a certain prestige and a number of privileges. For example, Sara is viewed differently by her classmates or her teacher when she reports that her father is a 'shaheed', a war hero (killed in action), but without a body found it is difficult to officialize this.
As a single mother, Esma has a hard time and has to work in a nightclub in the evening/night. It is also not good for the relationship with her daughter. The plot of the film quickly indicates where it wants to go, namely the fact that no attestation is possible at all. The revelation in the self-help group was the strongest scene in the film. Not only do you know exactly what happened, but I also found the scene very convincing and catchy.
Grbavica is my first Bosnian film, a successful arthouse and well worth seeing. I'm just afraid I'll forget him in a few months. Nevertheless, a serene film with a beautiful ending and one with the conclusion that life after a war does not just go on. By the way, thanks to Dievegge for the extra explanation (which I only read after the film).
Translated from Dutch · View original
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