• Summary: Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s, "In the Land of Blood and Honey" tells the story of Danijel and Ajla, two people from different sides of a brutal ethnic conflict. Danijel, a soldier fighting for the Serbs, and Ajla, a Bosnian held captive in the camp he oversees, knew each other before the war, and could have found love with each other. But as the armed conflict takes hold of their lives, their relationship grows darker, their motives and connection to one another ambiguous, their allegiances uncertain. "In the Land of Blood and Honey" portrays the incredible emotional, moral and physical toll that the war exerts both on individuals and people as a whole, and the terrible consequences that stem from the lack of political will to intervene in a society stricken with conflict. (FilmDistrict) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 29
  2. Negative: 4 out of 29
  1. Reviewed by: Eric Kohn
    Dec 19, 2011
    83
    The most impressive thing about In the Land of Blood and Honey is that Jolie makes you feel it.
  2. Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    Jan 4, 2012
    58
    In the Land of Blood and Honey captures the sickening way the war in Bosnia became a gray zone of genocide. Yet that, unfortunately, is not enough to make it a good movie.
  3. Reviewed by: Andrew Schenker
    Dec 18, 2011
    38
    When does intensity and commitment supersede historical understanding?

See all 29 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 26
  2. Negative: 14 out of 26
  1. 10
    Excellent movie, great cast, true story abut bloody aggression on Bosnia; some people can't stand a truth and would greatly dislike this movie, which should not be any proof on quality of the movie itself. Worth of viewing. Expand
    • 3 of 6 users said yes
  2. 5
    No point of making any movie on this subject without knowing these facts unless you just want to ignore them. The must read actual facts address given by the late General Pierre-Marie Gallois on March 25, 2009, in Paris. http://www.balkanstudies.org/articles/understanding-balkan-wars. If you want to make a movie not based on historical facts, than it might as well be a comedy. I was not expecting AJ to be this disrespectful towards victims on all sides especially since she saw real suffering. 5 stars for the cast and the good cinematography. Too bad, this was the opportunity to say something powerful from a romantic perspective. Everyone there was guilty, including the international community, the ones that did nothing and the ones that caused the whole thing and got involved later; (emphasizing Serbs as main villains is not the reality. Showing violence done just by one nationality and expecting to unite people there? All sides were extremely violent. This war is a typical - book example of a divide and conquer situation done by superpowers. As a result you have many head-cases self-elect themselves to do the tortures in the "name of their nations". Horrible reality. I don't think that the goal of the writer/director was a divide and conquer. Lack of knowledge- yes. After centuries of suffering, damage and dissecting of the Balkans by superpowers conquer what? Another superpower match over who will rule the skies above and the Adriatic? While the citizens in the area end up being just casualties of war! Expand
    • 4 of 6 users said yes
  3. For the trained or informed viewer the message becomes utterly predictable only after the introduction part of the story. After that it is highly insulting for the Serbs and all factually informed people who personally know about civil war, especially about that tragic region more than what the average Western viewer will ever be allowed to know via their usually available media sources that are not objective no matter how many times they are keen to repeat that fib. Seriously good acting and good standard directing for a cherry-popping movie for Jolie... I wish Angelina could have done it so much better and fairer with her not really informative story line in her debut that smells of dubious and occasionally even obvious subjectivity during her "research" period. On the other hand; if Madonna can get a Golden Globe for a song nobody really knows, I would not be surprised if she gets an Oscar for a movie nobody will remember. As long some positive PR spin done for US policy no matter how deeply stereotypically hypocritical it is. It's all a game for that part of that franchise; a cruel game of mirror-mirage distortion in pursuit of the Holy dollar no matter how dirty or otherwise contaminated the financier's banknote really is and where it is coming from. Really exposing debut for such a talented actress and director but from an unexpected and rather dark angle... Expand
    • 9 of 17 users said yes

See all 26 User Reviews