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Set during the Balkan war of the 1990s, As If I Am Not There is based on true events and tells the story of Samira (Natasha Petrovic), a young woman from Sarajevo whose life is shattered the day a soldier walks into her apartment and tells her to pack her things. Rounded up with the other women from the village and imprisoned in a warehouse in a remote region of Bosnia, she quickly learns the rules of camp life. However, the day she is picked out to entertain the soldiers, the real nightmare begins. In a final act of courage or madness, Samira decides to make one last stand: to dare to be herself. And this simple act saves her life. Based on Croatian writer Slavenka Drakulic s real life experiences overseeing the proceedings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: Serbian ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), Serbian ( Dolby Digital Stereo ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Set during the Balkan war of the 1990s, As If I Am Not There is based on true events and tells the story of Samira (Natasha Petrovic), a young woman from Sarajevo whose life is shattered the day a soldier walks into her apartment and tells her to pack her things. Rounded up with the other women from the village and imprisoned in a warehouse in a remote region of Bosnia, she quickly learns the rules of camp life. However, the day she is picked out to 'entertain' the soldiers, the real nightmare begins. In a final act of courage or madness, Samira decides to make one last stand: to dare to be herself. And this simple act saves her life. Based on Croatian writer Slavenka Drakulic's real life experiences overseeing the proceedings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia at The Hague. ...As If I Am Not There
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Simultaneously compelling and nearly impossible to watch in places, this stark no frills account of the atrocities against women in the Bosnian conflict deserves an audience it alas may never find.
A beautiful young woman starts her life as a teacher, finding her first assignment in a remote part of Bosnia far from her home in Sarajevo. She finds herself caught up in the regions troubles when the village is `cleansed', with the women captured and the men killed, and the movie then dwells on the debasement which she has to endure, and the choices she makes to keep her sense of her own humanity. No judgement is made here on whether her choices are good ones or bad ones, merely showing that in such circumstances it is indeed possible to retain a sense of dignity, where none is being offered.
The early scenes establishing the beauty of the countryside juxtapose with the harsh reality of what happens to the women at the camp, and cinematically the warmth of the early scenes and colours of the trees as she smiles on the way to her new life, contrast with the snow and clinical coldness of the interiors of the final shots. Beyond such minor touches, the telling is told mostly in more detached almost documentary style, leaving the drama to play across Natasha Pedrovic's face and eyes. And what a performance it is, anchoring the movie, making us care, and believe in the changes that happen to her. Her performance is quite astonishing, with the script kept magnificently in restraint, to beneficial effect. There is no lingering, or exaggerating, any of the horrors, merely an almost clinical telling of the facts.
Not a happy popcorn movie for your Saturday night by any means, but this is a well crafted movie on a difficult subject that rewards viewing, since it does not beat you over the head with any message. It merely shows the conditions and circumstances and asks the viewer to make their own mind up. Questions like.. was what she did a valid response to the circumstances? What would I have done had i been her? Or maybe scarier still... what would I have done had I been the captain ordered to make sure his men carried out the deeds? His assertion in the movie that she and he are both similarly just trying to find a way to survive, rings somewhat hollow when you see the inequality in power between them.
Just one final point - please do watch it for all the above reasons if you want to be challenged, don't watch it if you want an easy film to watch or are squeamish about your subject matter - and certainly don't fall for the prominent name checking of Stellan Skarsgard, he has one or two lines and is gone quicker than a flash.
A beautiful young woman starts her life as a teacher, finding her first assignment in a remote part of Bosnia far from her home in Sarajevo. She finds herself caught up in the regions troubles when the village is `cleansed', with the women captured and the men killed, and the movie then dwells on the debasement which she has to endure, and the choices she makes to keep her sense of her own humanity. No judgement is made here on whether her choices are good ones or bad ones, merely showing that in such circumstances it is indeed possible to retain a sense of dignity, where none is being offered.
The early scenes establishing the beauty of the countryside juxtapose with the harsh reality of what happens to the women at the camp, and cinematically the warmth of the early scenes and colours of the trees as she smiles on the way to her new life, contrast with the snow and clinical coldness of the interiors of the final shots. Beyond such minor touches, the telling is told mostly in more detached almost documentary style, leaving the drama to play across Natasha Pedrovic's face and eyes. And what a performance it is, anchoring the movie, making us care, and believe in the changes that happen to her. Her performance is quite astonishing, with the script kept magnificently in restraint, to beneficial effect. There is no lingering, or exaggerating, any of the horrors, merely an almost clinical telling of the facts.
Not a happy popcorn movie for your Saturday night by any means, but this is a well crafted movie on a difficult subject that rewards viewing, since it does not beat you over the head with any message. It merely shows the conditions and circumstances and asks the viewer to make their own mind up. Questions like.. was what she did a valid response to the circumstances? What would I have done had i been her? Or maybe scarier still... what would I have done had I been the captain ordered to make sure his men carried out the deeds? His assertion in the movie that she and he are both similarly just trying to find a way to survive, rings somewhat hollow when you see the inequality in power between them.
Just one final point - please do watch it for all the above reasons if you want to be challenged, don't watch it if you want an easy film to watch or are squeamish about your subject matter - and certainly don't fall for the prominent name checking of Stellan Skarsgard, he has one or two lines and is gone quicker than a flash.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This movie doesn't hold back from showing in graphic detail the crimes that were commited against civilians in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990's.
We see events unfold from the perspective of Samira. She is excited to be leaving her family in Sarajevo to start work as a teacher in a rural village. Soon the war intrudes on the village and all the residents are gathered up by local Serb militia.
The villagers are gathered in a hall and we see close ups of anxious faces of men and women, guessing at what will happen to the men. Our guesses are proved correct after they are taken into the woods.
The women are brought to a camp. Again our minds speculate what might happen to them and again our worst fears are realised. Samira is brought to a special house for "chosen" women and children. We see what men are capable of in a war situation when they feel they can do anything without fear of punishment. Some scenes are extemely disturbing.
Natasha Petrovic as Samira expresses perfectly, mostly with her eyes, the fear the women are feeling. For the most part this is the women's only way of expression. What use is there in talking when someone else can decide on a whim whether you live or die?
Samira and the other women do what they feel they have to survive but even when freedom comes they know their experiences will affect them for the rest of their lives.
The film is based on a novel containing womens stories that emerged from the International War Crimes tribunal trials of suspects from the Yugoslavian wars in the 90's.
A hard film to watch but I'm glad it was made as it reminds us of the reality of what happens to innocents in war. The harsh subject matter makes it easy to forget how well made the movie is. The beauty of the rural setting is shown at the start of the movie and contrasts with the flat landscape where the detention camp is set up.
We see events unfold from the perspective of Samira. She is excited to be leaving her family in Sarajevo to start work as a teacher in a rural village. Soon the war intrudes on the village and all the residents are gathered up by local Serb militia.
The villagers are gathered in a hall and we see close ups of anxious faces of men and women, guessing at what will happen to the men. Our guesses are proved correct after they are taken into the woods.
The women are brought to a camp. Again our minds speculate what might happen to them and again our worst fears are realised. Samira is brought to a special house for "chosen" women and children. We see what men are capable of in a war situation when they feel they can do anything without fear of punishment. Some scenes are extemely disturbing.
Natasha Petrovic as Samira expresses perfectly, mostly with her eyes, the fear the women are feeling. For the most part this is the women's only way of expression. What use is there in talking when someone else can decide on a whim whether you live or die?
Samira and the other women do what they feel they have to survive but even when freedom comes they know their experiences will affect them for the rest of their lives.
The film is based on a novel containing womens stories that emerged from the International War Crimes tribunal trials of suspects from the Yugoslavian wars in the 90's.
A hard film to watch but I'm glad it was made as it reminds us of the reality of what happens to innocents in war. The harsh subject matter makes it easy to forget how well made the movie is. The beauty of the rural setting is shown at the start of the movie and contrasts with the flat landscape where the detention camp is set up.
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