Witnesses (2003)

Witnesses (2003)
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Croatian filmmaker Vinko Bresan directs the political drama Svjedoci (Witnesses), based on the novel Alabaster Sheep by Jurica Pavicic about real-life war crimes committed during the Serbo-Croatian war. The film meditates on the tragedy belying conflicts that pit neighbor against neighbor - in this case, the Croatians against the Serbs in the early 1990s. The picture opens with three Croatian soldiers opting to intimidate and strong-arm a Serbian man by burning his house to the ground; instead, their plan goes a bit too far and he is brutally murdered, his daughter kidnapped. At this point, Bresan fractures his narrative and jumps back and forth in time, between the reaction of the gunmen to the events, the police investigation of the kidnapping and murder, the events leading up to the attack and the widow's plight. Witnesses was screened in competition at the 2003 Motovun Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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Director(s):
Vinko Bresan
Format(s):
DVD
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Synopsis of Witnesses

Croatian filmmaker Vinko Bresan directs the political drama Svjedoci (Witnesses), based on the novel Alabaster Sheep by Jurica Pavicic about real-life war crimes committed during the Serbo-Croatian war. The film meditates on the tragedy belying conflicts that pit neighbor against neighbor - in this case, the Croatians against the Serbs in the early 1990s. The picture opens with three Croatian soldiers opting to intimidate and strong-arm a Serbian man by burning his house to the ground; instead, their plan goes a bit too far and he is brutally murdered, his daughter kidnapped. At this point, Bresan fractures his narrative and jumps back and forth in time, between the reaction of the gunmen to the events, the police investigation of the kidnapping and murder, the events leading up to the attack and the widow's plight. Witnesses was screened in competition at the 2003 Motovun Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
88 mins
Director(s):
Vinko Bresan
Categories:
War
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Joseph B.

The repetative timeline and sparse dialog are a bit trying, but the acting is good, the characters are real, and the subject matter is important. I had to see it through and find out what happened. For the most part, it was worth it. Not bad - average or a bit above.

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Andrea N.

I am a native of Hungary, just north of the border of Croatia, so I was naturally very interested in this movie, but it wasn’t easy. What became obvious to me is that this film was not made with an international audience in mind, or if it was, it is woefully inept at reaching it. I had the feeling throughout that I was missing very important visual cues that tell volumes to those who know what they mean but nothing to me. Obviously a lot of the scenery is very similar to what you see in Hungary, but the associations must be different, or at least I kept grasping for straws. I also found the flashbacks confusing and not immediately understandable until about halfway through the movie. Nevertheless, it is a story that needed to be told, and a courageous attempt to face a difficult time in the country's history as part of the "truth and reconciliation" process. Opportunistic crimes committed at a time of turmoil are sadly universal.

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Scott L.

I actually really like the acting, (some strong characters) and also the directors concept and ability to take you through different viewpoints...the main issue is the plot development. It just develops a little to slowly. There are two many view points with not enough focus on any specific charter until the end..this is obly a two and 1/2 star ..but rentable

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