Grbavica (2006)

	Directed by: Jasmila Zbanic	COUNTRY Bosnia-Herzegovina/ Austria/Germany/Croatia GENRE Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Grbavica RUNNING TIME 100 minutes
	Produced by: Barbara Albert Damir Ibrahimovic Bruno Wagner
	Written by: Jasmila Zbanic

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Esma	Mirjana Karanovic	½
Sara	Luna Mijovic	½
Pelda	Leon Lucey
Samir	Kenan Catic
Sabina	Jasna Beri
Cenga	Dejan Acimovic

Review

This is a wonderfully balanced film from Bosnian filmmaker Jasmila Zbanic about the horrors of war, seen in retrospect from the perspective of a female ex-POW and her teenage daughter. Grbavica is saturated with a pleasant everyday warmth, even if it depicts a society still struggling in the aftermath of war. But in Zbanic's vision, this is a society filled with potential, filled with possibilities – especially for women, who are about to cut loose from previous paternal constraints and find themselves in a new Europe. Grbavica is filled with insight, not only into the lives of women, but into an entire region and its culture. And despite its ultimately grave subject matter, which Zbanic portrays with decency, compassion and poignancy, she more than anything wants to depict her genuine belief in humanity and our goodness. It's a wonderfully positive film that delves into both the horrors of war and the ordeal of coming of age. It's alternately sensual and constrained, much like the women it depicts.