Shot Through the Heart

"Shot Through the Heart" is an even tempered, dogged, austere production of people caught in the rift in Sarajevo during the Bosnia war. The film focuses on two long time friends, both expert competitive marksmen, who find themselves as snipers on opposite sides of the conflict. Not unlike other "friend against friend" civil war stories (eg: Gettysburg), the two men are on a collision course with the ultimate showdown. A well managed drama which imparts some sense of the strife in the splintering of Yugoslavia while telling its story of families and friends divided, "Shot..." is a worthy film making effort.

Excellent TV production, harsh, moving, real. To watch it hurt me almost at a physical level, I have lived in Sarajevo, I know the city, it's people, and I understand their plight. Take it from somebody who has been there; this is a movie well made, the situations, feelings and emotions it depicts are very real, almost exactly as it was. There is no overt dramatization here, no going over the top; I almost felt as if I was there... Unbelievably good for a TV movie.

If there is one weak point in the film, it is that they should have utilized local actors, they should have filmed it in the original language with subtitles. That would have made the movie even more powerful. Well done!

In Sarajevo, Muslims, Croats and Serbs live in peace. The Muslim Vlado (Linus Roache) and the Serb Slavko (Vincent Perez) are best friends, almost brothers, and the best shooters in Yugoslavia. They are going to the Olympics in Barcelona representing Yugoslavia. However, with the Bosnian war in 1992, Slavko joins the Serbian army for training snipers and Vlado joins the militia in the streets of Sarajevo to defend his people. The duel between the former friends ends in a tragic way.

"Shot Through the Heart" is another magnificent and touching movie about the Bosnian war. The first time I watched it was two years ago, and the school teacher of my son borrowed it to present to her class. This week, I have watched 'Harrison's Flowers', 'Vulkovar' and 'Pretty Village, Pretty Flame', all of them about this sad war, but having different approaches. I decided to see 'Shot Through the Heart' again. All these movies show friends and lovers getting apart after years of friendship or love due to this stupid war. This movie is literally a shot in the heart. Impossible not be touched by such a sad story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): 'Um Tiro No Coração' ('A Shot in the Heart')

Shot through the Heart is a movie about two best friends who end up on different sides of a war. This movie goes through the horror and sadness of war and how it can tear even the best of friends apart. The sniping scenes give you an adrenaline rush. The anticipation is brutal. And on top of it all is the great acting. You will not be disappointed.

I was in Sarajevo at the time (7 years old) and the movie is pretty accurate.

Uniforms and bad accents don't matter, its a good story, especially the trench type of warfare that was fought. A bit different from the blitzkrieg style campaigns that we see now days over the TV in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are a lot of small details that make it very realistic, like the wood for burning during the winter stockpiled in the appartments, the way people die, living conditions in general, no water, no electricity, barelly enough food, etc

Somethimes that period of my life seems like it was only a dream...