Velibor Topic Movies
- 2007
First time feature filmmaker Kristijan Milic teams with writer Josip Mlakic for this screen adaptation of Mlakic's popular novel following two tales of 20th Century bloodshed in Bosnia. Alternating between warfare in 1943 and 1993, Milic and Mlakic's dark war drama highlights the haunting sameness of both battles by following a squadron of HVO (Bosnian Croat soldiers as the walk the same path and face the same treachery that their Domobran (defenders of the Corat Independent State) forefathers did just fifty years prior. Chief among the HVO team is sympathetic soldier Tomo - whose grandfather was the last surviving Domobran Martin. By the time soldiers in both eras make their way to the haunted cemetery, the stories converge to highlight the hopeless cycle of strife that seems poised to repeat itself ad infinitum. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Filip Sovagovic, Velibor Topic, (more)
Ridley Scott directed this epic-scale historical drama inspired by the events of the Crusades of the 12th century. Balian (Orlando Bloom) is a humble French blacksmith who is searching for a reason to go on after the death of his wife and children. Balian is approached by Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), a fabled knight who has briefly returned home after serving in the East. Godfrey informs Balian that he is his true father, and urges the blacksmith to join him as he and his forces journey to Jerusalem to help defend the holy city. Balian accepts, and he and Godfrey arrive during the lull between the Second and Third Crusades, in which the city is enjoying a fragile peace. Both Christian and Muslim forces are temporarily in retreat, thanks to the wisdom of the Christian monarch King Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), his second-in-command Tiberias (Jeremy Irons), and Muslim potentate Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). Violent agitators on both sides are foolishly eager to end the peace in a bid for greater power, and Saladin bows to pressures from Muslim factions; Godfrey is one of a handful of brave knights who has thrown his allegiance behind Baldwin IV and his community of diversity, and Balian joins him as they use their skills as warriors in a bid to build a lasting peace. Kingdom of Heaven also stars Eva Green as the princess Sibylla, David Thewlis as Hospitaler the priest, and Brendan Gleeson as Reynald. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, (more)
