In the Land of Blood and Honey Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

In the Land of Blood and Honey Blu-ray Movie Review

Make love, not war.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 22, 2012

It's politics, not murder.

The "war is hell" mantra has been forwarded by artists from Erich Maria Remarque to Oliver Stone, both creating masterpieces across two of the 20th century's predominant art forms, their stories largely derived from personal experience, the former the first World War and the latter the Vietnam conflict. Actress Angelina Jolie doesn't write and direct In the Land of Blood and Honey from her own trials in wartime Bosnia, but rather through her own personal research, tours of the war-raveaged land as a United Nations "Goodwill Ambassador," and personal concerns for the area and advancing an understanding of "who" and "what" and "why" in an effort, no doubt, to learn from history and play some part in ensuring that man doesn't repeat it. Intertwined with Jolie's anti-war tale is a romance, a story of two people once in love but torn apart by politics, bloodshed, religion, and ethnicity, not by their own doing but through the external pressures of repression, hate, and mistrust. As the film eschews violence, it advances the idea of humanity coming together blind to differences but asking the question of whether then, now, or in the future man will prove capable of setting aside his prejudices and living a life guided by the heart and soul rather than the eyes, history, or politics.

Victims of circumstance.

Prior to the early 1990s, Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse countries in Europe. Muslims, Serbs, and Croats all lived in peace. That peace is shattered by war. Danjiel (Goran Kostic) and Ajla (Zana Marjanovic), a Serb and a Muslim, once dated, but the outbreak of hostilities has shattered their relationship and placed them on opposing sides of the conflict. Four months into the war, and Ajla, a former artist, and other women of a similar age are rounded up and imprisoned to be used as servants and sex slaves for the fighting men. Danjiel attempts to protect Ajla from the rapes, using his position of leadership -- he's the son of a general -- to claim her as his and his alone. As they attempt to remember what they once had, the fog of war continues to damage their relationship. When word is leaked that Danjiel is keeping a Muslim as his own, the battle becomes far more personal and the stakes all the more deadly for two people simply trying to leave the present behind and survive the worst European conflict since the second World War.

In the Land of Blood and Honey largely succeeds in its intermixing of romance not born of but greatly influenced by war while maintaining a base focus on the overtones of the personal, political, religious, and historical differences magnified in a time of conflict. The picture's core story brings the struggle to a personal level, a level where many war pictures go but rarely make the center of the story. However, the picture gives little time to the broader context; the audience is more or less thrown into the middle of the bloodshed with only the two main characters present to truly define the senselessness of it all. Scenes of soldiers gunning down civilians, shots of bombed-out buildings, and images of brutal rape bluntly show the tragedies of war, but they do so on a largely impersonal basis. The story has been whittled down to that of Danijel and Ajla with, generally, only a broad context supporting their tale. But Jolie's picture remains focused on the characters' abilities to set aside their ethnic, religious, and political differences in a time of peace and their efforts to the same in a time of war, in a time when their respective peoples attempt to force upon them separation rather than unity. The picture brings the follies of war to the most personal of levels, where matters of the heart are questioned solely on the basis of a background, dismissed because of hate and misunderstanding rather than celebrated as the coming together of souls, not the clashing of titles. One cannot help but imagine the movie in a more universal context, then, where the story may apply to any conflict fought on the battlefields of nations or in the minds and actions of a small group. It's not so much the surrounding elements that matter, but the greater significance that Jolie strives and largely succeeds to promote.

Rightly or wrongly and whatever the film does well and whatever it doesn't do so well, it inevitably all comes back to Angelina Jolie. It's not everyday a Hollywood starlet steps behind the camera, and it's certainly not everyday that one makes her debut work on a film as emotionally challenging as this. In the Land of Blood and Honey weaves rather effortlessly through the figurative darkness that is its plot. Certainly the movie plays as more of a message than a narrative, and for as thematically relevant but done-to-death as the "war is hell" motif may be, Jolie provides a steady hand that keeps the movie going -- if not going a little too long -- as it traverses what is primarily its single message. She gets much play out of the dynamic that sees the characters separated not of their own accord but rather because the world around them dictates they must be separate. Jolie's commentary on sexuality versus brute force -- that it's deemed OK to rape the Muslim women, but not to love them -- is handled with both thematic care and visual force. The movie plays with a polished veneer; it rarely seems forced, it looks authentic, and it's acted satisfactorily, though certainly the themes overwhelm what are rather bland and flat characters who largely disappear under the weight of the world in which they live. Still, Jolie creates a strong current of dramatic tension, even as the movie overextends its welcome. In the Land of Blood and Honey certainly may not be the next great anti-war picture, but it's a worthy genre entry and an effective -- on both sides of the camera -- directorial debut for one of Hollywood's hottest personalities.

In the Land of Blood and Honey Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony's released another superb transfer. In the Land of Blood and Honey delivers fantastic Blu-ray video. The image enjoys a positive and handsome film-like texture. Light grain retention accentuates the effortless detailing evident on clothes, faces, and war-torn environments. Clarity is outstanding, and only a handful of ever-so-soft shots detract from the image's otherwise impeccable sharpness. In terms of colors, the image takes on a cold, dreary, wintertime appearance, showcasing a slight blue-gray tinge. Still, the palette is balanced and steady, whether camouflage military uniforms or Ajla's yellow sweater vest she wears through much of the movie and becomes a little more ragged and a hair less vibrant in just about every new scene. Flesh tones are even, and black levels are superb, yielding excellent shadow detail. Troublesome banding, blocking, or other unwanted intrusions are absent. This is another wonderful transfer from Sony.

In the Land of Blood and Honey Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

In the Land of Blood and Honey's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack delivers in all areas. Light music plays with an airy smoothness, while heavier beats enjoy crisp details and a strong low end. All play with a very good, natural sense of spacing around the soundstage. Light ambience drifts easily through the soundstage, whether in opening scenes before the war or natural atmospherics in those outside shots during it. The track offers up a wide array of distinct sound effects that play collectively or individually. Knocks on a door come easily off to one side in an early scene, automatic weapons fire shatters the other moments later, and the rattly interior of a bus-in-transit realistically places the listener in one of the seats. In general, gunfire plays crisply and authentically, while explosions pack a strong wallop. Serbian dialogue is delivered cleanly through the center channel. This is a quality track that serves the movie very well and matches the video for quality.

In the Land of Blood and Honey Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

In the Land of Blood and Honey contains a few extras, notably an hour-long Q&A session with Angelina Jolie and Vanesa Glodjo. Please note that the included DVD copy of the film contains the English language version of the film. Unfortunately, it is not available on the Blu-ray.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 16:32): Danijel and Ajla Meet, Ajla Serves Dinner to Soldiers, Photographer Gets in Trouble, Danijel Asks Ajla if She Needs Paint Supplies, Danijel and Ajla Take a Bath, Ajla Paints, Ajla Notices Blood on Danijel's Jacket, Soldier Drags a Body, Darko Tells a Story About a Dog, Aleksandar Breaks Down, and Mehmet Sings to Lejla.
• The Making of In the Land of Blood and Honey (1080p, 10:24): Cast and crew discuss the shooting script, the film's importance, shooting in two languages, casting and the work of Serbian actors, real stories from the war, and more. In English and Serbain with English subtitles.
• Q&A with Writer/Director Angelina Jolie and Actress Vanesa Glodjo (1080p, 1:02:03): The two field online questions, including the importance of telling the story of the war, the challenges of Glodjo's role, the inspiration for making the film, the war's alteration of the country's landscape, Jolie's favorite scene in the movie (asked by her son), Jolie's work as a director, and more. With English subtitles.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.
• BD-Live.
• DVD Copy.

In the Land of Blood and Honey Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In the Land of Blood and Honey doesn't break ground or set new standards in the annals of anti-war fiction, but it's an effective, if not overlong, picture that examines the divisions created by conflict and the dangers of attempting to maintain something of a status quo in a world where the old and peaceful way has become a source of contention and violence. The film is the directorial debut of Actress Angeline Jolie. Her work on the other side of the camera is effective. Her narrative is strong the picture's production values are of a high quality. The film feels authentic and looks good. The performances are lacking and the character development is lost under the weight of the whole, but the sum total is a quality film that does resonate and largely accomplishes its goals. Sony's Blu-ray release is unsurprisingly fantastic. Pristine video and audio presentations are supported by a fair array of extra content. Recommended.