Svjedoci

The story has potential... the suspense is there however the film had a lot of rough edges and there was too much drama.

The story is set in Croatia during the factional wars that broke out in the 1990s--Serbs versus Croats in this case. A murder is carried out and the only witness is a young girl--what will happen to her?

The film abruptly jumps back in time several times replaying everything but adding more details each time at first I thought it was a defective DVD... Have never seen that done before.

Instead of intellectual gimmicks like this the film maker should have concentrated on toning down the silly dramatic scenes ... they don't wash.

It comes off as a grade B movie with intellectual pretensions.

Hard to rate something like this except comparing it to other films from the region.. Klopka (Serbian) was much better. so this film gets 5 stars..although it will engage you it just needs more refinement.

the insanity of distinguishing a murder from war killing! is there a difference? is the nature of the crime different? isn't fear behind it all? bringing it's ugly cousins, prejudice, hate, pride and ignorance. All these forces working to break or compromise the good side of all of us. that's what the characters of this story are up against. The only redemption and hope in the story rests in the life of the young hostage. The three reckless soldiers, (street thugs with permission to carry automatic weapons) are left without any leadership and their best thinking leads to murder. they are as senseless as war it self. the story is set in a homeland war of Croatia. the difference in their army from conventional armies is that their squad consists of father and sons, brothers, friends and neighbors. i was relucxtant to view, but got it delivered through Film Movement as their pick of the month. i liked this film and it opened the door for me to be more willing to screen a lot more foreign films. they have any element that American films do not. cant quite put my finger on it yet.

Film Svjedoci (Witnesses) by Vinko Brešan is from Croatia. Brešan has won countless prizes and awards in his own country, and with Svjedoci he has been nominated for the Oscar for best foreign film. Already during production, the movie triggered a fierce debate in Croatia: set against the war in Yugoslavia, this young director portrays the fatal psychological impacts of war and violence in three parallel tales. The film is based on motifs from the bestseller The Plaster Sheep by Jurica Pavicic; which was inspired by a true story from 1991 when a group of Croatian soldiers brutally killed a Serbian family. Witnesses consists of three stories, each beginning at the same moment –the moment of murder investigation, and each story gives a new point of view of what actually happened.The film focuses on the idea of losing your soul in a war. Even during production, some of the more conservative town—councilors and some war veterans' organizations protested because of the topic of this film. The film has also been publicly cried out against, because one of the main characters is played by a popular Serbian actress Mirjana Karanovic. Recommendations to observe: First scene (lasting, photography, and exterior). All blow-ups and actors face expressions. Bad point: "Happy" and heroic end of the movie

Well done film about the Third Balkan War in the 1990s, in this case, Croats vs. Serbs. The film takes a single incident--the killing of a Serb civilian who lives in a predominantly Croat town during the war--by Croat soldiers. This starts the plot rolling. Soon layer after layer of the true story is revealed as the movie shifts backs to certain scenes and repeats them from a slightly different angle and perspective. In this particular film, the technique is used very effectively without being annoying or pretentious.

I agree with many of the other reviewers--an underrated film that should be watched. I give it 8 stars.

Note: as of Sep 2013, this film is available on Netflix Instant View as well as DVD. Glad I found it.

I find it hard to believe that someone might give this amazing film less than an 8. If they do, it is undoubtedly either because they do not understand it, or for nationalistic reasons. Those who ascribe to a simplistic, black-and-white view of the war in Croatia will be disappointed with the grey in which Svedoci operates.

What Bresan achieves is a stunningly human portrait of the nuance between good and evil which predominates in times of war. From virtually every standpoint--artistic, technical, acting, musical--this film is astonishingly good. Though it is about the war in Croatia during the 1990s, the film's themes are relevant to virtually every civil conflict.

I highly recommend it to any serious cinemaphile.