Saturday, November 12, 2011

B&H First Screening Feedback

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David Ehrenstein 
David Ehrenstein

Beyond Gobsmacked by the film I saw at a sneak preview yesterday afternoon.
In the Land of Blood and Honey is a stark and truly shocking drama of the Bosnian Civil War of the 1990's. This was genocide on a massive scale that was rigorously ignored by the west. At one point we hear Clinton's Secretary of State Madeline Albright saying the U.S. "didn't have a dog in this fight."

UGH!

What we see here is the story of what happened ot a particular woman, played by an actress I've never seen or heard of before --  Zana Marjanovic. She is absolutely world-class. So is her leading man Goran Kostic. He plays a Bosnian soldier who in the opening scene is romancing her at a dance. Then a bomb goes off. Months pass and a convoy arrives at our heroine's apartment block. Everyone is ordered out. All the men are executed. The belongings of all the women are confiscated. Anyone who balks is shot in the head. Several of the women are chosen to be raped (anally of course) in front of their friends. This is all about degradation and humiliation.

The soldier our heroine knew is now a commander. He discovers she's been rounded up and takes her aside to use her as his own personal servant. He renews their relationship on a romantic level -- which she seems to accept. But what she feels is in this situation beside the point as she's a prisoner. His father, played by the only name actor in the cast Rade Serbedzija (best recalled as the costume chop owner in Eyes Wide Shut) insists she's nothing more than a "Muslim Whore" and that his son "should finish with this." Needless to say it ends badly for all. But that's not the point of the film. The point is to expose MASS GENOCIDE that was DELIBERATELY IGNORED.

Kind of like the way Penn State ignored child rape.


And now the Big News. This film was written and directed by Angelina Jolie.

I always knew she had a lot on the ball, especially from what Don Bachardy has told me about her. But never to this extent. The most glamorous woman in the world is As Serious As A Heart Attack. She is a Major Filmmaker at the very start of what I expect will be a long career.

Not to be missed under any circumstances. 


Comments:


  • Matthew David Wilder Wow! That's great to hear. I had this weird feeling looking at the preview that Angie crushed it. Good for her.
    10 hours ago

  • Susan Oppenheim I loved A Mighty Heart-better prepare for this one-sounds heavy and vital
    10 hours ago

  • David Ehrenstein It really blew me away. I was shown this "blind." I had heard she was
    releasing a movie about the Bosnian war, but I had assumed it was a
    documentary shot by someone else that she was 'presenting." nstead it's
    this awe-inspiring debut. In no way is this a cutesy "vanity project"
    from a pampered star.

    On Sat, 12 Nov 2011 10:32:55 -0800, Facebook wrote:
    10 hours ago via · 1

  • David Ehrenstein It certainly is.

    "A Might Heart" was really good. But I'd thought that was about as far
    as she would go. Never knew there was a world-class filmmaker underneath
    that alluring exteriror.

    On Sat, 12 Nov 2011 10:34:42 -0800, Facebook wrote:
    10 hours ago via · 1

  • Susan Oppenheim and 6 kids and paparazzi at every turn-amazing woman
    10 hours ago

  • Jack Taggart I'm so happy to hear that. Angie was talking about that project way back during CHANGELING, and a lot of our Malpaso crew wound up producing it with her. She's got so much passion invested in it, I hope it gets the audience and reception it deserves.
    9 hours ago

  • David Ehrenstein I think it will. It's incredibly moving and bautifully made. And Zana Marjanovic is a major discovery. She sould easily have starred herself and Brad in this -- but that would have obstructed the view.
    9 hours ago

  • Jack Taggart I've seem pics of Zana , she's striking.
    9 hours ago

  • David Ehrenstein She certainly is. She looks a little like Debra Winger.
    9 hours ago

Ken has seen it too

Meanwhile, Ken Addams' earlier comments take on new significance in the wake of his revelation that he had seen Blood & Honey back in Sept.

Ken Adams said...
Haha, I saw it in september, just not allowed to say anything about it


Lara Durden

So when are you going to give your full review of In Blood & Honey now that we know you've had this on lock since September?

Lara Durden
GK & FilmDist must have threatened death to keep reviews on lock. Usually there's some leaks. D. Ehrenstein is talking though.


Ken Adams
I don't really wanna cause any form of havoc over at GK and FilmDistrict...
  with that said, if some other bloggers start posting reviews, I might as well go ahead..

  
Ken Adams
I'm just curious why you've completely ignored Blood and Honey..
8 Nov via Twitter for iPhone




 

Friday, October 21, 2011


In Yo Face, Spielberg and Daldry...

Well, it certainly seems that the Million Dollar Baby comparison made earlier here wasn't no joke. Right now, I'm betting my money on Jolie's Blood and Honey to be one of the frontrunners for Best Picture (director too, perhaps?), but the main fact is that AJ is dead-on serious here about cementing her actor-filmmaker position. Let's hope the film is as good as the trailer is indicating it to be.

For Your Consideration: Oscar Contenders 2012


 3. In the Land of Blood and Honey (December 23rd)
Well, a late addition to the Oscar race. Jolie's directorial debut looks very impressive and seems to handle the subject matter very well. With the Anthony Minghella meets Schindlers List tone set to it, I'm betting my money that this will be the big winner of next year, unless FilmDistrict once again fuck up on the marketing like they've done with Drive and The Rum Diary.

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