As If I Am Not There

Equivalent to film testimonies of suffering in concentration camps, this raw, silent drama is about the atrocities committed on women (and girls) in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995, as seen through the eyes of a young woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Almost the entire film takes place in the dense atmosphere of a women’s camp, a deserted area with three barracks. Most of the unpleasant things (killing, rape, humiliation) take place out of sight, but there is also one naturalistic scene, longer than the audience would be comfortable with. Minimalist Natasha Petrovic is sufficient in the main role, and Stellan Skarsgård’s cameo was nice. In the end, the film changes from the depressing testimony from the camp into the pondering of the consequences of the terrible acts with which the main character not only has to live, but has to accept within her family as her own blood... I can’t give it four stars, as the second half of the film (the affair with the captain) is less believable in terms of the characters’ psychology and behavior. Still, it is a powerful, memorable experience that will haunt you in your sleep. (02.03.2012)

I am surprised this film was made by the Irish, considering it takes place at the Balkans. I don’t think the Balkans have anything to be embarrassed about. What this film shows really happened in their countries in the nineties and it was so disgusting that when trying to describe the Balkan war, I am often left speechless. This film often lacked more dialogue or at least clear explanations. Everything relied on the audience explaining everything for themselves. Sometimes the camera shots were so drastic that if you saw them in real life, it would be really hard to recover from. Similar shots are featured in the Russian war movie Come and See. Like I say, As If I Am Not There is a really hard film to process. The Balkan war woke the worst instincts in the local men and developed them to the maximum. I don’t say other wars didn’t do that as well, but here it is still pretty recent. (14.01.2018)

As If I Didn't See It. Check out the poster and keep yourself engaged for 40 minutes. Congratulations, you're almost halfway through the movie. The Bosnian-Serbian conflict is sadly starting to become my cinematic nemesis, because after the awful Twice Born, this is yet another whiny tryst of apathetic women in the same setting, where you can still see the unsteady hand of a not-very-talented debutante unable to trouble the cast and crew enough to achieve the rawness and authenticity of the scenes depicted. All of that is simulated here instead by the barn in the field and the main character's expression, which only raises the suspicion that she might be made out of rubber. In the end, though, the worst part of the film is the director's decision not to make any comment on the political background to the conflict, and unless you have some exposure to the period, you won't be able to tell what kind of oppression she is suffering under. Thus, it becomes not an account of the horrors of war perpetrated on women, but a purely ideological war of weak women against uncouth and stupid men. (29.08.2014)

A strong story, no doubt about it. A young woman goes to a problematic country to teach there. It's not a distant country, but it is Bosnia and Herzegovina. The woman suffers here, and her suffering is portrayed with incredible camera work, which definitely has the right, unpleasant effect on viewers. However, I can't help but feel that the film didn't make such a strong impression on me. (23.06.2016)