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Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 21 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama | Foreign
Written by: Jasmila Zbanic
Directed by: Jasmila Zbanic
Release Date:
Theatrical: February 16, 2007
DVD: June 12, 2007
Running Time: 90 minutes, Color
Origin: Austria / Bosnia-Herzegovina / Germany / Croatia
Language(s): Serbo-Croatian (with English subtitles)
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Mirjana Karanovic, Luna Mijovic, Leon Lucev, Kenan Catic, Jasna Beri, Dejan Acimovic, Bogdan Diklic, and Emir Hadzihafisbegovic
In her stunning debut feature, writer/director Jasmila Žbanić explores the painful long-term effects of war on a Bosnian woman and her daughter. (Strand Releasing)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site Film Forum Profile
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
It appears to have been made from the inside, not only of the characters but of the historical situation in which they struggle.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Bolstered by a beautifully shaded performance by Karanovic as a woman attempting to escape the torments of her past while securing a future for her daughter, Zbanic's film begs a pretty complex question: Is a love story possible in the aftermath of torture and genocide? The answer appears to be a tentative yes, both on the levels of the film and filmmaking, but it isn't easy.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
Zbanic, who lived through the Bosnian war in Sarajevo, is an unusual talent. Here, she makes us feel the hell her characters once lived through as well as the leftover, stinging pain of today.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Winda Benedetti
This is a spare and plainly told story, and it is that plainness that gives it so much punch.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
While excellent films like Danis Tanovic's Oscar-winning "No Man's Land" and Vinko Bresan's "Witnesses" have dealt with the war itself, few have dealt with the aftermath, and none with the aching power and empathy of Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
The admirable feminist agenda occasionally trips up the narrative, but the film's performances keep it on track.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Jasmila Zbanic's poignant drama reminds us that the aftershocks of war linger for generations.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Like its music, the film's emotions proceed from lament to screaming screed to chorus of hope.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
Mirjana Karanovic (Esma) and Luna Mijovic (Sara) give powerful performances as Zbanic imbues a simple story with a powerful commentary on the Bosnian war's devastating impact on the innocent.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The dramatic conflicts are soapy and unsubtle, but Karanovic pours intense authority into Esma's scarred psyche.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Ella Taylor
Grbavica is a womanly movie in the best sense: Zbanic has a deeply feminine sense of how crisis gets filtered through the domesticity of daily life.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Zbanic's story of an ordinary life stained by extraordinary cruelty cuts deep.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Philip Kennicott
The power of "Grbavica" is not the arc of its story line, but the fullness of the world Zbanic creates.
Read Full Review >The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
It is the two leading performances that make the film seem almost to reach down and embrace us.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
The war might be over, but fear and hope remain locked in a rapturous stranglehold amidst the rubble.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Zbanic is such an acute observer of women's lives in their intimate details, and constructs such fine scenes, that I think this might be the best film to emerge from the aftermath of the Balkan conflict.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
Throughout Grbavica the desire to forget and the need to remember are at loggerheads. At Sara’s school the psychological wounds of the war are being handed down to her generation through the separation of heroes and nonheroes. Fathers pass their weapons down to their sons. Even as you leave a war behind, you bring it with you.
Read Full Review >Slate Dana Stevens
Grbavica is a surprisingly vibrant, at times even joyous, study of the way life goes on even after the most intolerable suffering.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
In her brave first feature, Bosnian writer-director Jasmila Zbanic tackles the theme of war's aftermath.
Read Full Review >Variety Russell Edwards
Central performance by Mirjana Karanovic is instantly endearing. Unfortunately, film coasts on thesp's ability to evoke sympathy and leaves her stranded in this yarn that's all setup and little payoff.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Dino D. gave it a10:
Honest, brave and beautiful.
