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'Grbavica' is yet another superlative film coming from Bosnia. Firmly walking in the footsteps of Bosnian Best Foreign Language Film winner 'No Man's Land', the film trails a promising future for the fledging Bosnian film industry. This small, understated production is the proof-positive of the vibrancy of the Eastern European Cinema. A pioneering feature effort by the writer/director Jasmila Zbanic, the film has already been accoladed the prestigious Golden Bear at this year's Berlin International Film Festival and is sure to be a strong contender when it hits International festival circuit.

Ms Zbanic has created a quiet, sentimental and feminine picture of the war's aftermath and the emotional toll the war inflicts on a mother/daughter relationship. She assuredly, with a hand of a born film-maker, creates a small but potent film which is a startling reminder of cinema's transcendental powers.

'Grbavica' is sure to snuggle in the same underrated niche of anti-war movies that deal with lasting trauma on the psyche of war survivors. Movies like Hal Ashby's unforgettable 'Coming Home' or Russian 1959's classic 'Balad of a Soldier'.

The picture's lasting impact owes much to the haunting performance of Mirjana Karanovic, a consummate artist who has, for over a decade, been the most decorated and awarded actress coming from war-torn former Yugoslavia. In Esma, Mirjana has entered the body and soul of a tormented war victim with a dark secret, and thus given us yet another performance to talk about. Her daughter Sara is expertly played by the little Luna Mijovic in a film debut reminiscent of Natalie Portman's career-launching role in Luc Besson's 'The Professional'.

Variety's Russell Edwards pinpointed film's main shortcoming: '...the film is all set up and little pay off'. Indeed, although well-rounded and balanced, 'Grbavica' lacks complexity and dramatic density. A story thread is missing, a counterpoint of sorts, that would have enriched its thematic appeal and elevated its dramatic tension.

Even the best of war movies, intentionally or not, on some level or another could be seen as one-sided and propagandist. It took more than a hundred years of cinema for a film-maker to come along who realized this inherent danger in making war movies. 'Flags Of Our Fathers' is a solid war movie with a strong anti-war message. But who could blame some Japanese for seeing it as anti-Japanese. That's why the old man Clint, creating cinematic history, has given us 'Letters of Iwo Jima', the version of the same battle seen through the Japanese point-of-view.

Unspeakable atrocities are committed in any war. It would be idealistic if not idiotic to expect that a humane war could ever be waged. Both sides commit them, the stronger always more than the weaker. Had Ms. Zbanic weaved a story thread that would have touched upon this unfortunate reality, her subtle and soulful feature debut would have radiated universality of a true masterpiece.

In Grbavica, Sarajevo, Esma Halilovic (Mirjana Karanovic) raises her teenage daughter Sara (Luna Mijovic) alone with many difficulties and working in double-shift. Every now and then Esma participates in a group therapy with other traumatized Bosnian women that have survived to the Balkan War. Esma needs two hundred Euros for the school trip of Sara and is working hard to raise the amount. When Sara is informed by her teacher that the martyr certificate of her father would grant her to travel for free, she presses her mother to give the document. But Esma borrows the money and pays the full price and Sara forces her mother to disclose the truth about her father.

"Grbavica" is a heartbreaking movie about the violence against women in the Balkan War. The touching and credible story is very simple but discloses in a very delicate way through the relationship of a mother abused in a women's camp and her spoiled and rebel teenage daughter. The performance of Mirjana Karanovic and the direction of Jasmila Zbanic are awesome and the result of their work will certainly bring tears to sensitive viewers. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Em Segredo" ("In Secret")

This film is about a woman who has to raise money for her daughter's school trip. Or she could produce a certificate to say that her daughter's father is a war hero, so that her daughter could go to the trip for free.

The film is down to earth and realistic. There are no grand sets, no expensive costumes and no fancy cars. Instead, we get to see a real side of life in Sarajevo. A bus ride, working in factories, picnic on the hilltop or women trying dresses on: all of these seemingly trivial matters reflect how people live. It brings out the soul of the characters, and we get to care for them.

The daughter, Sara's youthful rebellion is direct and raw. Her spectrum of emotions, from sadness to joy, on the final bus ride is remarkable. Esma's work in the night club is also memorable. Her shock and disgust with things that go on around her, and her self pity that she has to earn money like that is striking.

Esma's final confession in the group is touching and emotional. It crystallises anger, hate, despair, ambivalence and love into one. From the interaction between Esma and Sara throughout the film, who would have thought that Sara was in fact born in such circumstances?

This film is touching, not only because it exposes the scars of post war Bosnia, but also the everyday tragedies of the lower class.

I was fortunate enough to see this wonderful film at the Melbourne International Film Festival where it seemed to receive a positive reaction from the large audience.

Jasmila Zbanic has written and directed a film that is powerful enough to speak to a global audience. Even as a twenty-something Australian male, I was able to relate to the struggle of a middle-aged Bosnian woman because of the strength of Zbanic's storytelling and the superb acting.

I was particularly astonished by Mirjana Karanovic's performance and would be thrilled to see her acknowledged at Oscar time next year. She captured Esma's internal conflicts perfectly and brought many audience members to tears. Luna Mijovic was also very good as Sara, shifting with ease between adolescent rage and childlike vulnerability.

Zbanic should be applauded for crafting a film that reminds us that the wounds of war leave deep scars. While Zbanic's script may not be "perfect", the humanity of her message is strong enough to leave us feeling grateful for the gift of love. At a time when the global political climate is in such tumult, films like this remind us to appreciate the loving relationships we have, despite the baggage they may come with.

This Movie is excellent, and it's starting in cinemas around Bosnia and Herzegovina March 1st.

GRBAVICA is a story about contemporary Sarajevo…

Single mother Esma wants to grant her twelve-year-old daughter Sara's wish to participate in a school trip. A certificate proving her father is a war martyr would allow her a discount. But Esma continues to avoid Sara's requests for the certificate. She would rather find a way to pay full price for the trip. She believes not telling the truth about Sara's father is a way to protect both her and her daughter.

It's moving and touching, but also very truthful to the post-war events. I hope it will hit cinemas worldwide or at least a DVD Realise. Grbavica's director won 1st Prize on the Berlin Movie Festival.

'Esma's Secret' is a film set in the European ordinariness of Sarejevo; but the bullet holes still visible in the city's plasterwork are a chilling reminder of the terrible conflict the erupted here in the early 1990s, fuelled by politicians trading on notions of supposed racial identity. The film explores the nature of life where many live with their own memories of war; it's a sensitive movie, although a somewhat obvious one (nothing here contradicts the "official" verdict that the Bosnians were the victims of the Serbs, something which may well be true in general, but a more interesting film might have probed the exceptions). What I enjoyed most was the convincing performance by Luna Mijovic as the teenage daughter of the central character Esma, full of rebelliousness and incipient sexuality. It's also nice to see a movie where the actors look like real people, not film stars.

Very simply a honest, straightforward and earnest film about a topic that is just so important to be informed about and discussed.

The camera-work is so to the point, so is every little piece of direction. The acting is sharp, clear and real all the way through. - I was hoping for Mirjana Karanovic (as well as Luna Mijovic) to win the Bear for their incredibly focused performances. Well, they didn't get it, shame, I thought, but then again, a golden bear for best film is not so bad either...! So congratulations to Jasmila and the whole team and the four different producers from four countries making this possible in joint effort! -

And given all these plain and clear ingredients, what you end up with is one of the most moving "movies" I have seen for a very long time.

This film is not about reinventing the wheel, it is simply all about showing how incredibly well a well made wheel can work.

Winning the Golden Bear at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival, Bosnian writer-director Jasmila Zbanic arrives with an emotional belter in her debut feature, "Grbavica". All the more relevant now in its quietly disconcerting post-wartime musings, the film packs all the wallop of a shotgun to the gut with the revelations sowed from the secrets held between a mother-daughter pairing of waitress, Esma (Mirjana Karanovic) and her pubescent daughter Sara (Luna Mijovic). Sara, a wartime baby, believes her father to be a hero for the cause and a monetary benefit that derives from that belief spurs her inquisitive nature that begins to unsettle Esma. Alluding to bankrupt masculine values in the region among other things, the film's raison d'etre is to remind audiences of the echoes of war and the numerous communal crises still facing its people. "Grbavica" falters when it shows too much leg and too little narrative flexibility when leading up to its devastating conclusion, marvelously acted upon by its leading ladies.

i have seen GRBAVICA at the berlinale in Germany and this is one of the best movies i ever seen. without any violent scenes this pictures burns the whole frightening war in former Yugoslavia in your head - without to accuse somebody directly. it is a film about accomplishment of the war, the state of the country now, the relationship between mother and daughter, the puberty and a love story too. very good actors and calmly produced. very earned won the golden bear in berlin! if you have the chance to see this movie, please use it... hopefully this movie will be internationally known, not only in Europe.

(excuse, my English is not so good)

This is Jasmila Zbanic's debut movie. It is about the painful aftermath of the Bosnian war and focuses on a Bosnian woman and her 12 years old daughter Sara. They are living in Grbavica, a quarter of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. Esma needs money to pay a school trip for Sara, even though a certificate proving that Sara's father was a war hero would allow her to join free.

The movie won the Golden Berlin Bear in 2006, the main character is beautifully interpreted by Mirjana Karanovic as well as the daughter by Luna Zimic Mijovic, the looming reality of post war is crudely represented, but I wouldn't say this is a masterpiece. It lacks the real density of the story and, apart from the two main characters, the others are just sketched.

However this director deserves much attention as the movie "Quo vadis, Aida" will lately prove.

This film has nothing to do with the reality of war and is nothing but a bizarre attempt at indulging in victim mentality. It comes across as laughable for those of us who are familiar with the history of the conflict in question.

A heartfelt look at the real, often invisible and neglected consequences of war in lives of every day people, when all the macho posturing and political spectacle is over - broken lives, scarred bodies and "impure" histories tearing people apart not only in relation to each other but also within themselves. A subtly brutal and slow-burning, yet at the same time gently powerful film, reminding us how futile, shameful, stupid, and ultimately violent the imposition of "universal" historical memory is to people who just did not have a choice.

This little film drew me in with it's central characters, a Mother who was a war survivor,who had been in the P.O.W. camps in Sarajevo (played to perfection by Mirjana Karanovic), and her daily struggle to keep her head above water, with a thankless job in a cocktail bar, and with the daily battle with her adolescent daughter, Sara (played by Luna Mijovic). The two women share a love/hate relationship that will easily tear at your heart at times. This is not always an easy film to watch, but is an easy film to appreciate. First time writer/director Jasmila Zbanic works well with the cast,drawing just enough emotion to make this a heartbreaking, but satisfying experience.

Highly recommended.

Sarajevo is a raped city, Bosnia is a raped country and the culprit, although known, has never been convicted. How a person, and a nation, finds a strength to overcome the injustice? Very difficult, sometimes impossible.

I hoped and prayed that Sarajevo has that strength, and still do, however, this movie showed me how heavy the burden is. It is personal, a message to each one of the viewers to try to put themselves in victim's shoes and see how they would cope. Hard core stuff. The film tries to put on a positive spin at the end, however, it wasn't that convincing, I am afraid.

Mira Karanovic is absolutely stunning!

Before yesterday, I didn't know ANYTHING about Bosnian actors or directors. I only went to see it because of Leon Lucev - I know him from Sta je muskarac bez brkova. Well, I discovered Jasmila Zbanic, Mirjana Karanovic, Luna Mijovic yesterday. Both actresses were brilliant. The director managed to show normal life of Sarajevo, it was so easy to identify with Esma and Sara's problems, even for people who never had such traumatic experience.

That's why the ending was even more shocking. I had tears in my eyes (and that happens very rarely, I'm not sentimental at all) - and when I secretly looked around, I saw all the others have tears in their eyes, too.

One little off-topic comment: I saw here comment that Esma shouldn't swear to Tito in the film, because she was too young when Tito died, and her generation didn't feel Titoism so strong. I was only 3 when Tito died. But even 8 years AFTER he died, we (in Croatia) still had to sing "Comrade Tito, we swear to you not to turn off your path" and "Comrade Tito, white violet, all young people love you. Young and old love you, you are our pride and our hope" - we had to sing it on all school events on holidays.

Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (2006) was written and directed by Jasmila Zbanic.

The movie stars Mirjana Karanovic as Esma, who is raising her teen-age daughter as a single mother. Luna Mijovic portrays Sara, her daughter.

This is a brilliant, but disturbing film. Esma is hard-pressed to find work, and Sara is troubled young woman.

Grbavica is a neighborhood in Sarajevo, which underwent years of siege by the Serbian army. Most of us know something about the Serbian war crimes during the Yugoslav war. Probably most of us probably don't know enough, especially about the aftermath of the war. This film shows us people scarred forever about what happened to them before 1995, when the war ended.

Zbanic is a brilliant director, and the two lead actors are very talented. I won't say anything more about the plot, because the movie will work better if you view it without too much advance information.

We saw the film on DVD, where it worked well. It's always best to see a movie in a theater, but, because that's unlikely, see Grbavica on the small screen. You'll be rewarded by watching a truly excellent movie.

To make the film easier to understand, I'll define two words. One is "Chetnik," which in this context means Serbian soldiers. The other is "Shaheen," which we usually spell as "Shahid." That's a general term for "martyr," but in this context it means Bosnian soldiers killed by the Serbs.

Grbavica has a pretty good IMDb rating of 7.2. I think it's much better than that.

Please stay away from any potential source of spoilers for this prior to your initial viewing. This is a compelling piece, and I hope everyone who is mature enough for it will watch it. It is about a mother and daughter in Bosnia, trying to make ends meet after the end of the Balkan war. You do not need to have much, if any, prior knowledge of the country or culture to appreciate this. Zbanic directs it with great skill, nothing is excessive, it all fits perfectly, and a lot is gone into in 90 consistently well-paced minutes. Anyone reluctant to try foreign films ought to give this one a chance. This can help prove that not only the West can produce accessible movies. I understand that some feel that this takes sides in the conflict, but I cannot claim to concur with that. And in fact, this is such a universal story of pain and struggle that it can be applied to countless other locations around the world. If any finger-pointing can be claimed to occur in this, it is towards battle. The character are all well-written, credible and well-developed. Every acting performance is completely spot-on. Karanovic as the overworked Esma and Mijovic as the rebellious, tomboy-ish Sara are spellbinding. Music is well-chosen. The editing and cinematography are excellent. This gripping tragedy engages the audience, and emotionally affects us without being manipulative. I am not aware of dubs, and in any case I suggest just accepting the subtitles. Not understanding a word of what was spoken, I can't say for sure about the amount; however, I believe there is at least a little strong language. There is brief nudity and arguably sexuality, as well as disturbing content, in this. I recommend this warmly to any fans of drama who are old enough. 8/10

Whenever I watch film connected to Sarajevo I am touched to the bottom of my soul.

So much was said about this film, that I do not have anything much to add except if you like films on ex Yugoslav theme this is a must see.

Jasmila Zbanic always wanted to be a film director, and when you have a talent like she has it has to happen. I know the war stopped her for some years to become a successful film director, but she survived the war and she made it. Many Sarajevans can not say the same, dead mouth do not speak. On that theme watch other film made by Zbanic For those who can not tell the tales.

Jasmila since we are the same generation growing up in a relatively small city like Sarajevo is, we knew all about each other. I also wanted to be a successful film director, may be I would of, if I did not like the other kind of films you do not like. You know those when actors have no clothes on while acting ;) May be the words you uttered: Petar Matic can not be a film director because he likes porn! condemned me for ever. Since that damnation happened all was bad for me, I would never have a real chance in life, not to say film directing was lost for me for ever. I know I did some semi professional work but that was really not good. I would give myself 1 out of 10 for those pitiful film directing I tried. You simply have to have training in the best film schools in order to make it. I never got to it. I thought there was time. Time expired for me.

Despite its romanticized, optimistic title, "Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams" actually takes place in a world of shell-shocked survivors. Nearly a decade after the end of the Balkans War, the citizens of Sarajevo (Grbavica is a quarter located in that city) are still attempting to pick up the pieces of their shattered psyches and somehow move on with their lives. Even as bodies are continually being unearthed in mass graves scattered throughout the area, and residents search desperately for remains of their missing loved ones, a veneer of "normalcy" has returned to the city, as citizens cope with the everyday concerns of earning a living, raising children, caring for aging parents, falling in love. Yet, the extent of the emotional scarring is still greatly in evidence: in women attending group therapy sessions designed to help them cope with their losses; in youngsters crowding into noisy nightclubs as a means of escaping the horrors of the past; and, most tellingly perhaps, in the use of dark humor and strangely inappropriate laughter as a major coping mechanism for the beleaguered survivors.

Against this searing backdrop, "Grbavica" focuses on two main characters: Esma, a struggling seamstress who has lost a father and perhaps a husband in the war, and Sara, her teenaged daughter who, on top of the "growing pains" common to teens everywhere, has her own unique set of problems to deal with. One of those includes a major shocking secret about her father revealed late in the film. Mirjana Karanovic and Luna Mijovic, who make a completely convincing mother/daughter team, deliver heartrending, sensitive performances as the parent and child struggling in a world seemingly bereft of joy, hope and happiness, while Leon Lucev offers fine support as a potential love interest for the overburdened seamstress.

Writer/director Jasmila Zbanic has fashioned a film that calls to mind the groundbreaking work by the Italian neo-realists of the post-World War II era. For despite the grimness of its setting, the film suggests that the healing process may have already begun for the nation as well as for its people, and that where there is life there is always hope. The very fact that "Grbavica" is an Austrian/Bosnian-Herzegovinian/German/Croatian co-production attests to that possibility.