English - Hearing Impaired, German - Hearing Impaired
Extras
Welcome to Sarajevo
Buena Vista/Buena Vista .
R4 . COLOR . 98 mins .
MA15+ . PAL
Feature
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To say Welcome to Sarajevo is an intense film would be an understatement. It is set at the early stages of the war in Yugoslavia in 1992 and 1993 and looks at the war-torn city of Sarajevo. The story revolves around a group of news reporters covering the war whose policy of observing and not interfering is soon thrown into chaos.
Welcome to Hell
While reporting from an orphanage, British reporter Michael Henderson (Stephen Dilane) becomes emotionally involved, desperate to see the children shipped out of Sarajevo to safety. He unwittingly makes a promise to a young girl in the orphanage and sets about getting her out. This involves the help of fellow reporter and rival Flynn (Woody Harrelson) along with American aid worker Nina (Marisa Tomei).
The daily problems faced by not only the reporters but also the locals include snipers, mortar attacks and the UN’s inability to assist. The UN policy restricts them from helping as the Serb aggressors want to rid the city of the occupants so the UN’s preferred solution of evacuation would only be seen as coalition with the aggressors – got to love politics. Through all these political barriers and the constant fear of being killed, Henderson will do all he can to uphold his promise to the orphan girl.
The news team in action.
The subject matter is extremely brutal, graphically displayed and, sadly, based on a true story but the flow of the story seemed a little out of step to me. The basic story is obvious, but there are many holes that are never filled. It is terrific at illustrating the brutality of the war, of showing the sad plight of the locals and especially the orphans, but it is the flow that was a disappointment for this reviewer. This is not to say the film is bad overall, the mixture of real news footage with cinematic footage is seamless and the dramatic account of the war is commendable. However, without a decent flow to the story, this valuable commodity is lost somewhat.
Stephen Dilane is a quality actor and again displays his talent here, but the rest of the cast are really co-stars by a long way. The fact that Harrelson and Tomei get equal billing to Dilane is frankly a joke, their characters are never on screen long enough to develop and the viewer is left not really caring much about them at all.
Overall, this is an intense film that, although very depressing, is a good account of the war and the situations occurring during that time, along with the struggles of the reporters to make the world aware. It also shows the tragedy of the children of war, quite often the forgotten ones. The acting of Dilane is impressive, the story is grim and you won’t come away feeling good in any way, but you may feel the better for seeing it simply by gaining a better awareness of what is going on in the world.
Video
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Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and 16:9 enhanced, the picture quality of this release is generally very good. There is a lot of actual news footage used that is of poorer quality and is intentional for realism, but the cinematic footage is of a very good standard. Image is generally sharp with the only problems being some grain and loss of detail in some instances. Colours are natural and there are no problems with over-saturation. There are occasional film artefacts, but these go by unnoticed for the most part.
Subtitles sampled are accurate to what is said on-screen and another option is to have no subtitles apart from when the characters speak in Bosnian. The subtitles are a great help at times, as the dialogue can be hard to follow on occasion.
Audio
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Audio is supplied in a choice of English or German Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and the English track sampled was impressive without being outstanding. Dialogue can be a little hard to hear at times, but the surround use is extensive and does make you feel like you are right there in the war-zone. The subwoofer is quite active during the many explosions and synch is never an issue.
Extras
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There are no extras supplied with this release.
Overall
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If you are looking for a feel good movie then look somewhere else. This is a realistic look at the atrocities faced in this war-torn city and the struggles of its people. The story is a little hard to follow in my opinion, but many may disagree. The video and audio are both of very good quality but there are no extras. Worth checking out if you are feeling too good about life and need a reality check.