Blu-ray Review: Banal Romance Sinks ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – Cinema is one of the most powerful tools of communication that mankind can utilize to shed light on gravely overlooked areas on our planet. Yet good intentions are not enough to achieve success with this art form. If the scripted drama rings false, the message, however vital, gets lost in a sea of disinterest.

Like Julian Schnabel’s superior passion project, “Miral,” “In the Land of Blood and Honey” stages a bland two-dimensional human story against a riveting three-dimensional backdrop. It marks the directorial debut of Angelina Jolie, whose travels around the world and mounting rage at the crimes against women led her to pen a screenplay set during the Bosnian War of the mid-’90s. Though the subject matter is obviously worthy of cinematic treatment, Jolie’s attempt to symbolize the tragedy of warring neighbors with an epic love story falls flat. The results are deeply unsatisfying.

Blu-ray Rating: 2.0/5.0

Zana Marjanovic stars as Ajla, a Muslim painter who shares a lustful dance with a Christian Serb, army officer Danijel (Goran Kostic) in the minutes before warfare literally erupts all over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Though some brief dialogue mentions the crimes committed by Muslims against Serbs, Jolie lingers with excruciating detail on the suffering that befalls Muslim women during the conflict. The Christian Serbs are portrayed as no less monstrous than the Nazis, with the exception of Danijel, who admits in private that he finds the war “difficult to stomach.” When Ajla is imprisoned by Serbian forces, Danijel employs her as the army’s official painter in order to save her from certain rape. Instead, he tenderly “makes love” to her in the privacy of his room while delivering wistful dialogue like, “Remember how things were before this madness?” I kept waiting for Ajla to respond, “You mean during our thirty seconds on the dance floor?” Jolie wants the audience to believe that love has somehow developed between these arch-enemies, but I didn’t buy their alleged romance for an instant. There seems to be no substance to Danijel’s desire apart from sheer horniness, and Ajla’s apparent attraction to him is even more difficult to stomach. Of course, Ajla has little choice but to remain submissive to his advances during her captivity, but Jolie doesn’t develop her character adequately enough to allow audiences to share in her conflicted psyche.

In the Land of Blood and Honey was released on March 27, 2012.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

The film’s most compelling moments predictably center on characters whose beliefs aren’t nearly as muddled and enigmatic. Rade Serbedzija is superb as Danijel’s father, the ruthless Serbian General Nebojsa Vukojevich, while Vanessa Glodjo makes an indelible impression as Ajla’s heartbroken sister, Lejla. Her scenes are so good that they hint at what the film could’ve been if Jolie had simply made a film about the war that wasn’t limited by melodramatic plot arcs. It’s clear that Jolie takes her work—and herself—very seriously. This is, after all, the woman who couldn’t even laugh at herself when her silly leg posturing was spoofed at the Oscars. Jolie should be applauded for her efforts to make an important film, but its doubtful that many viewers will be able to connect with it in a meaningful way. It’s easy to depict human suffering, but it takes a certain amount of skill to rattle moviegoers to their very core.

“In the Land of Blood and Honey” is presented in 1080p High Definition (with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio) and is available in a combo pack featuring Blu-ray and DVD versions of the film. Among the scant extras are 16 minutes of deleted scenes that include Ajla’s confession that she dreams of having children with Danijel. There’s also a chilling monologue correlating the behavior of dogs with mankind’s primal instincts that is dramatically effective but (like most of Jolie’s dialogue) artlessly on-the-nose. In a brief making-of featurette, Jolie explains that it was her intention to tell a universally relatable story about a relationship that could’ve ended in happiness. Since several of the film’s actors lived through the Bosnian War, a few of them share snippets of their experiences (this footage could’ve easily been expanded into a documentary of its own). Kostic reveals that his father was a proud JNA officer, while Boris Ler (who plays the role of Tarik) recalls hearing the bombings when he was a little boy.

The exclusive Blu-ray feature is an hour-long online chat where Jolie and Glodjo awkwardly answer random questions, including one submitted by the director’s son Maddox. There’s a stunning moment when Glodjo talks about her determination to move her life forward even after her middle class lifestyle was upheaved in the chaos. She had to pass through “Sniper Alley,” the dangerous boulevard in Sarajevo, in order to attend acting classes (now there’s a movie premise for you). As for the film’s title, it’s meant to reference the name of the Balkans, as well as symbolize the dichotomy between the bloody violence in Bosnia and its flourishing artistry and sensuality. Too bad the “honey” part of the equation never made it to the screen.

By MATT FAGERHOLM Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com matt@hollywoodchicago.com