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Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams(Grbavica)

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Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Austria · 2006
1h 30m
Director Jasmila Žbanić
Starring Mirjana Karanović, Luna Mijović, Leon Lučev, Kenan Ćatić
Genre Drama, History

10 years after the ethnic conflict that left the city of Sarajevo in ruins, widowed Esma and her teenage daughter Sara struggle to survive in a country still healing from violence. Esma attempts to make ends meet by working in a mob-connected disco and slowly forms a relationship with the club’s bouncer, while Sara meets her first love.

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What are critics saying?

40

Variety by

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.

60

Salon by 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.

88

TV Guide Magazine by 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.

60

The New York Times by 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.

75

New York Post by 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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