Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams

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Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams

2007,

1h 47m,

Drama

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Watchlist

98%

42 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

A full decade after the ethnic conflict that left the city of Sarajevo in ruins, the widowed Esma (Mirjana Karanovic) and her adolescent daughter, Sara (Luna Mijovic), struggle to survive in a country still raw from the violence. Esma attempts to scrape together the money for an expensive school trip by taking a job in a sleazy, mob-connected disco. While Esma gingerly enters a relationship with bouncer Pelda (Leon Lucev), Sara meets her first love, fellow outcast Samir (Kenan Catic).

Critics Consensus

An emotionally blunt and gripping drama, Grbavica deftly explores the emotional toll that all wars take upon those who survive them.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

Aug 22, 2018

This is a smart, moving film, and ultimately optimistic. Hate may have the questions, but love has the answer.

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

May 18, 2007

3/5

[Director] Zbanic makes the awful seem commonplace and vice versa, while adding ominous shadows to Esma's untold backstory. The war might be over, but fear and hope remain locked in a rapturous stranglehold amidst the rubble.

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Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

May 4, 2007

3/4

Like its music, the film's emotions proceed from lament to screaming screed to chorus of hope.

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Robert Denerstein

Denver Rocky Mountain News

May 18, 2007

B

Grbavica increases in power as it progresses. It's a movie about the ways in which people yearn for healing and about the many obstacles that work to prevent it.

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Winda Benedetti

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

May 4, 2007

B+

This is a slice of Bosnian life, a powerful peek at average people trying to live their average lives despite the extraordinary and unthinkable things that lie in their past.

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Sean Burns

Philadelphia Weekly

May 2, 2007

Lovely in its understatement, quietly but insistently demanding that Esma's story, and those of too many other women, finally be told.

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Jasmila Zbanic

Director

Mirjana Karanovic

Esma

Luna Zimic Mijovic

Sara

Leon Lucev

Pelda

Kenan Catic

Samir

Jasna Beri

Sabina

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Synopsis

A full decade after the ethnic conflict that left the city of Sarajevo in ruins, the widowed Esma (Mirjana Karanovic) and her adolescent daughter, Sara (Luna Mijovic), struggle to survive in a country still raw from the violence. Esma attempts to scrape together the money for an expensive school trip by taking a job in a sleazy, mob-connected disco. While Esma gingerly enters a relationship with bouncer Pelda (Leon Lucev), Sara meets her first love, fellow outcast Samir (Kenan Catic).

Director: Jasmila Zbanic
Producer: Barbara Albert, Damir Ibrahimovich, Bruno Wagner
Screenwriter: Jasmila Zbanic
Distributor: Strand
Production Co: Coop99, Jadran Film
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Serbian
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 16, 2007, Limited
Release Date (DVD): Jun 12, 2007
Box Office (Gross USA): $43.1K
Runtime: 1h 47m

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