@NancyODell
Nancy O'Dell December 14, 2011
In the Land of Blood and Honey to get Stanley Kramer Award from PGA. That event just became a hot ticket. #Brangelina
So far, In the Land of Blood and Honey has been all but ignored by the various US-based critics' groups that have already named their Best of 2011. Possibly, Jolie's movie hasn't been made as widely available to critics as, say, late-year releases such as David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, both of which have managed to get several nods from the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
Roth Cornet
Angelina Jolie’s IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY Angers Some Serbs, Wins Producers Guild Stanley Kramer Award
Andre Soares | Dec 13, 2011So far, In the Land of Blood and Honey has been all but ignored by the various US-based critics' groups that have already named their Best of 2011. Possibly, Jolie's movie hasn't been made as widely available to critics as, say, late-year releases such as David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, both of which have managed to get several nods from the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
@JRothC
Jennings Roth Cornet
Angelina Jolie's directorial debut inspires praise and controversy
As the PGA announces plans to honor "In the Land of Blood and Honey," a Serb association calls for a ban
My woman crush on Jolie reignited as I wrote this: Angelina Jolie's directorial debut inspires praise and controversy hitfix.com/blogs/in-conte…
Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut “In the Land of Blood and Honey”
is stirring the initial rumblings of critical praise as well as a bit of
controversy. The mix feels oddly fitting given the trajectory of the
filmmaker's own relationship with the public.
Earlier this week producers were faced with a potential lawsuit from James Braddock, a Croatian author claiming that the script plagiarized his 2007 novel “The Soul Shattering.” He has since withdrawn his motion for a restraining order against the film.
Meanwhile, the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today that the film will be honored with the 2012 Stanley Kramer Award at the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony. As the PGA explains it, the award was established in 2002 to honor a motion picture, producer or other individual whose achievement or contribution illuminates provocative social issues in an accessible and elevating fashion.
Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s, “In the Land of Blood and Honey” follows Danijel (Goran Kosti), a soldier fighting for the Serbs, and Ajla (Zana Marjanovi), a Bosnian woman who is held captive in the camp he oversees. They knew one another as man and woman before the war and must reconcile who and what they have become to one another in the face of one of the most brutal and bloody genocidal conflicts in modern history.
Jolie wrote and directed the film, which was (quite ambitiously)
shot in both English and BHS (Bosnian language). As she explains in her interview
with Greg Ellwood, the director made an initial English language cut
with her editor Patricia Rommel, at which point they collaborated with a
Bosnian editor to create the BHS version of the film. The BHS language
version will ultimately be released in theaters with English subtitles.
On the very day that the PGA announced its plans to honor “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” The New York Times reports that Branislav Djukic, of the Bosnian Serb Association of Camp Prisoners, has called for a ban on the film in the Serb-run portion of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Though he has only been privy to a trailer for the film, Djukic claims that it is “telling lies” in its depiction of Serbian soldiers raping women during the war. I am not sure what this association hopes to gain with their sight unseen protest of the film. Rape was repeatedly, horrifically used as a method of torture during the war, by both sides.
In another twist, Jolie had come under criticism during production by an association of Bosnian women for writing a female lead that “falls in love with her torturer.” All of these critiques are of course, as mentioned, being made prior to a full viewing of the film. Some, though likely not all, of the detractors may very well alter their stance once they have the full scope of the story.
As for me, I was already compelled by the trailers, as well as by the idea of Jolie stepping into the director’s chair. And whenever I get the sense that groups or organizations are threatened by a particular subject or tale, it only serves to pique my interest further. We should talk about the things that scare us; we should look at the images that shame us.
For year-round entertainment news and commentary follow @JRothC on Twitter.
Earlier this week producers were faced with a potential lawsuit from James Braddock, a Croatian author claiming that the script plagiarized his 2007 novel “The Soul Shattering.” He has since withdrawn his motion for a restraining order against the film.
Meanwhile, the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today that the film will be honored with the 2012 Stanley Kramer Award at the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony. As the PGA explains it, the award was established in 2002 to honor a motion picture, producer or other individual whose achievement or contribution illuminates provocative social issues in an accessible and elevating fashion.
Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s, “In the Land of Blood and Honey” follows Danijel (Goran Kosti), a soldier fighting for the Serbs, and Ajla (Zana Marjanovi), a Bosnian woman who is held captive in the camp he oversees. They knew one another as man and woman before the war and must reconcile who and what they have become to one another in the face of one of the most brutal and bloody genocidal conflicts in modern history.
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The Land Of Blood and Honey - Angelina Jolie, Zana Marjanovic and Vanessa GlodjoAngelina Jolie, Zana Marjanovic and Vanessa Glodjo talk to HitFix about "The ...
On the very day that the PGA announced its plans to honor “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” The New York Times reports that Branislav Djukic, of the Bosnian Serb Association of Camp Prisoners, has called for a ban on the film in the Serb-run portion of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Though he has only been privy to a trailer for the film, Djukic claims that it is “telling lies” in its depiction of Serbian soldiers raping women during the war. I am not sure what this association hopes to gain with their sight unseen protest of the film. Rape was repeatedly, horrifically used as a method of torture during the war, by both sides.
In another twist, Jolie had come under criticism during production by an association of Bosnian women for writing a female lead that “falls in love with her torturer.” All of these critiques are of course, as mentioned, being made prior to a full viewing of the film. Some, though likely not all, of the detractors may very well alter their stance once they have the full scope of the story.
As for me, I was already compelled by the trailers, as well as by the idea of Jolie stepping into the director’s chair. And whenever I get the sense that groups or organizations are threatened by a particular subject or tale, it only serves to pique my interest further. We should talk about the things that scare us; we should look at the images that shame us.
For year-round entertainment news and commentary follow @JRothC on Twitter.
