Until Sept 11^th, war, terrorism, religious differences, and such, seemed like something that was worlds away from us, accessible and traceable primarily through the evening news.  But this is a new world, and things are viewed from a different perspective now.  When you break it down to its barest form, war is little more than a glorified miscommunication over whatever differences may exist between two parties, be it religious, geographical or political.  No Man’s Land, the Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film (in a blatant robbery from Amelie) attempts to show the minutia that makes up the grander scale of these horrific occurrences.  The film takes a slightly humorous Catch-22 situation, and effectively uses it to communicate how silly, yet tragic, war can indeed be.  While the film doesn’t do anything that spectacular, its message still rings true, even in this new semblance of normal that we live in. 

The film is set in an area called no man’s land.  It is a neutral area between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbian borders.  Two troops on patrol in a trench, come across a seemingly dead body, and decide, for a joke, to place a pressure sensitive mine underneath his body, so that when someone tries to recover the body, the mine would rise up, explode and spread shrapnel all around.  Only two problems with this, first, the soldier is not dead, and secondly, they are not alone in the trench.  A fellow soldier, Chiki shows up, and kills one of the two other soldiers, leaving the less experienced soldier, Nino to deal with the circumstances.  Once the opposing soldiers realize their predicament, it becomes a waiting game, to see whose army shows up first, to defuse the mine, and to return to their respective sides.  The Catch-22 plays in, because neither trusts the other, each trying to cast blame for the war, and trying to keep the wounded soldier still, until the mine expert arrives.  Complicating matters are the media, of course, seeking to exploit the situation, and the UN Peacekeepers, trying to find a resolution that is amicable to both sides, without causing a national incident.  The film balances, and intertwines all of these stories into a strong commentary on the state of politics, the absurdities and oddities of the causes and effects, and ultimately, the tragedy and victims of the repercussions.  This is helped along by the contrasting personalities of the performers, who play off of each other with a dedication, and brutal reality of two men caught up, defending ideals they may not believe in, for the sake of a national unity and pride fed to them by a government that they are sworn to support.  These two actors, along with the reporter, and the oblivious leader are representative of the morals and convictions of the participants, and the many faceted levels of the filmmaker’s story.  They are the messengers of this powerful tale, fitting, poignant, realistically humorous, and consistently ironic.

Ultimately, No Man’s is a powerful commentary on all aspects of war, from the media, to the bigwigs, to those who try to mediate, down to those who are actually involved. The conclusion of the film is the most powerful statement that can be made about war, that there are no winners and losers, despite who may prevail.  Senseless violence, masked as justified is still violent and unnecessary, and the causalities are sometimes the most innocent, on unintended.  No Man’s Land makes a powerful statement, not with the amount or gratuitousness of the violence, but rather the harsh realities that aren’t always captured in the media. The film’s setup may seem a tad repetitive and laborious, but the payoff, in its stark, frustrating nature, represents the true horror and tragedy that war presents.  Noone comes out ahead, the media will cover it, and move on, and the higher ups will do whatever is best, without really taking any chances.  The contrast, yet bond created between the two soldiers, shows that these are just innocent people, driven by idealisms, to defend their beliefs, at whatever cost.  Without trying to, No Man’s Land makes one of the strongest anti-war sentiments in recent years.

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