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Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams

EMAILPRINTStrand Releasing

Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams reviews
71
8.7 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 21 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 4 votes
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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)

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...

91

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.

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88

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.

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88

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.

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83

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Winda Benedetti

This is a spare and plainly told story, and it is that plainness that gives it so much punch.

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80

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.

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75

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The admirable feminist agenda occasionally trips up the narrative, but the film's performances keep it on track.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

A moving but flawed premiere feature.

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75

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Jasmila Zbanic's poignant drama reminds us that the aftershocks of war linger for generations.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Like its music, the film's emotions proceed from lament to screaming screed to chorus of hope.

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75

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.

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75

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The dramatic conflicts are soapy and unsubtle, but Karanovic pours intense authority into Esma's scarred psyche.

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70

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.

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70

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Zbanic's story of an ordinary life stained by extraordinary cruelty cuts deep.

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70

Washington Post Philip Kennicott

The power of "Grbavica" is not the arc of its story line, but the fullness of the world Zbanic creates.

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70

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

It is the two leading performances that make the film seem almost to reach down and embrace us.

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67

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

The war might be over, but fear and hope remain locked in a rapturous stranglehold amidst the rubble.

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60

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.

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60

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.

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60

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.

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50

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

In her brave first feature, Bosnian writer-director Jasmila Zbanic tackles the theme of war's aftermath.

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40

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.

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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.

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