In the Land of Blood and Honey
Director: Angelina Jolie
Starring: Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic
***
At some point during the more than two hours of this violent wartime romance set during the Bosnian War, you'll probably ask yourself whether things can really get any more horrific. And, depending on how much has been cut, it's highly likely that they can, and will.
While few will question the filmmaking skills displayed in the production of Angelina Jolie's controversial and much-discussed directorial and co-written debut, shot with a fine artistic eye throughout, it's this unrelenting plotline that is perhaps its greatest downfall.
The story follows the Romeo and Juliet-style tale of Ajla (Zana Marjanovi), a Bosnian Muslim painter, and Danijel (Goran Kosti), a Bosnian Serb policeman, two residents of a Sarajevo that, in the opening scenes, appears a merry melting pot of ethnicities. Both meet for their first date, but a huge bomb blast signals an end, not just to the evening, but any further peaceful interaction in the city.
Months later, Ajla's flat is raided by Serbian soldiers, her male neighbours are shot dead in brutal fashion and off she goes to a detention camp with a bus load of other women. It's here where the real horrors unfold, as it soon becomes clear that life in the camp is going to be as near to hell as possible for its female residents, with regular (and graphic) rapes, beatings and suicides.
Ajla, however, is saved from much of the brutality due to none other than Danijel, now the camp leader thanks largely to his army general father – a man seemingly boasting the aesthetic features of every white-haired Serbian war criminal.
And so their damaged romance continues, albeit perhaps without the same cutesy glow as before. Ajla lives as Danijel's chosen "property", free from abuse by the other soldiers, who might tick all the boxes in the "evil Serb" checklist but who still adore their softer and occasionally guilt-troubled leader. While Ajla huddles in the corner of her room, the situation around her goes from bad to worse to watching through the gaps between your fingers wishing Jolie would just let up for a second. Old ladies are forced to strip for the amusement of the Serb soldiers. Women are used as human shields by cowardly Serb soldiers in a siege. An ambulance is blown up with a bazooka. Shallow graves are piled high with bodies dumped in by bulldozers. A baby is tossed casually to its death out of a window. There are a lot of assaults.
There's no doubt that Jolie has done her research into the four-year nightmare that was the Siege of Sarajevo when writing the script. But packing every single atrocity into the same story seems just too much, damaging the overall message about the war Jolie is trying to get across.
And painting such a stark picture of black and white - with evil rapist Serbs, poor defenceless Bosnians and few in between - is dangerous territory, particularly for a Hollywood Hills-residing A-lister with no first-hand experience of the conflict. The criticism from Serbia is unsurprising.
That said, In The Land of Blood and Honey is an accomplished debut. While it seems unlikely, given Jolie's convictions, let's just hope her next is a less contentious target.
aritman@thenational.ae
BELGIUM%20SQUAD
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Your Guide to the Home
- Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
- Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
- Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
The%20specs
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
