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As If I Am Not There

2010

A harsh dose of cinematic realism about a harsh time – the Bosnian War of the 1990s – Juanita Wilson's drama is taken from true stories revealed during the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Samira is a modern schoolteacher in Sarajevo who takes a job in a small country village just as the war is beginning to ramp up. When Serbian soldiers overrun the village, shoot the men and keep the women as laborers (the older ones) and sex objects (the younger ones), Samira is subjected to the basest form of treatment imaginable.

Nataša Petrović Feđa Štukan Stellan Skarsgård Miraj Grbić Jelena Jovanova

Theatrical

26 Jul 2010

Bosnia and Herzegovina

01 Apr 2011

27 Feb 2013

France

Bosnia and Herzegovina

26 Jul 2010

Theatrical

France

27 Feb 2013

Theatrical

USA

01 Apr 2011

Theatrical

109 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Horrible Reviews ★★★★

Simple story that does an amazing job portraying the horrors of (the Bosnian) war on a small, very personal scale. It tells the story of a 20-something-year-old girl who moves to a small town to teach, but soon finds herself in a prison camp where the soldiers mostly use her for personal pleasure.
With very little dialogue, the movie mostly communicates through visuals, and the actors through body language and facial expressions, all of which works quite effectively. Without it ever becoming gratuitous; for a story mostly about violence and sexual abuse, there's barely any (if all) blood, gore or nudity. It approaches its subject matter quite respectfully. Don't get me wrong though, it's still a very difficult subject matter/movie…
Review by Kurdt ★

In case you didn’t already know, important subject matter does not equal an important/good/necessary film. Don’t tell anyone involved in As If I Am Not There though, who assume that setting a film amid the Bosnian war and continually having their protagonist raped must make their work momentous. The question I kept asking myself as I struggled against my will to avoid pressing the stop button was “who is this for?”. It’s complete misery porn of the worst kind, overriding the viewer with constant abuse and even having the gall to tack on one of the most pandering “are you crying yet?” scenes I’ve ever seen. This clearly isn’t made for entertainment, but neither is it made as a promulgation…
Review by Ghostsmut ★★★★½

Today I woke up in a challenging kinda mood so felt now was a great time to watch films I wanted to see but had consciously avoided. I've held off from watching this one as I was worried it would be far too unrelentingly bleak.
It was.
The opening third was as horrifying as the last third of Martyrs. Genocide, rape and all kinds of abuse presented matter-of-factly for the viewer. Maybe the rest of the film continues in the same vein but I found myself far too shellshocked to take any more in.
The real horrors of the Bosnian war haven't rung the same echoes in history as say World War 2 but the parallels are basically the same.…
Review by Yarjka ★★½

The subject is tragic, no doubt about it, but the way it is presented is muddled. They are clearly going for stark realism by depicting some of the worst experiences one could imagine, but then they don’t actually show all that much, so it feels muted. I’m not saying I want to see those acts in more detail, just that the way the film is structured sets the viewer up for it and when it pulls back at key moments it takes away from the experience.
The location and overall atmosphere is expertly crafted to provide the utmost juxtaposition to the events. However, as the film progresses, the contours of the torment change and the contrast is no longer so…
Review by Kevin ★★★½ 6

This it totally brutal and horrific and full of deprivation and harrowing and heartbreaking and without the context of the film I'd probably say there's a scene or two that I had no business looking at.
Based on true accounts the film tells the story of the abusive nature of the Bosnian/Serbian conflict when Serbian soldiers rounded up the women of a small village and subjected them to the most horrific of nightmares.
It's horrendous, some of the acts the Serbians performed defy the imagination. Monsters isn't a word to be used lightly but I can't think of another word that can describe those men who treat human beings like disposable objects to be used, humiliated, abused at will and…
Review by Griffin Rissinger ★★½

This is one of toughest films I’ve ever seen. Absolutely grueling.
Review by S ★★★

Juanita Wilson's short film The Door is one of my favourite short (or long, for that matter) films. It's visually stunning and tells a heartbreaking story with minimal dialogue. A "show don't tell" kind of film.
As If I Am Not There, Wilson's first full length film, shares a lot of similarities with The Door. Minimal dialogue, a heartbreaking and traumatic central story, lots of show don't tell directing. However at 105 minutes running time these choices don't work quite as well as they do in short from.
The minimal dialogue works fine a lot of the time but there are a few scenes every now and then where it really could have done with a bit more exposition.
For…
Review by nononoah2 ★★★★

The cinematography tells the story through the haunting absense of dialogue.
Review by Paddy Hannan

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Review by Jack Hawkins ★★½

There's a lack of character and narrative detail; we learn very little about Samira and the context of the war. Also, the emotional range of the supporting cast is lacking, especially during the scene in which men and women are separated.
The harsh reality of it all is commendable, but not quite enough to recommend.
Review by filipchebt ★★½

Irish film abouth the War in Bosnia with Macedonian actors who speak bad Bosnian/Serbo-Croatian
Review by Joshzarr ★★★★½

Insane how under under under rated this near masterpiece is.

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As If I Am Not There

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Releases by Date

Theatrical

26 Jul 2010

01 Apr 2011

27 Feb 2013

Releases by Country

Bosnia and Herzegovina

26 Jul 2010

France

27 Feb 2013

USA

01 Apr 2011

Popular reviews

Where to watch

As If I Am Not There

Synopsis

Cast

Director Director

Producers Producers

Original Writer Original Writer

Casting Casting

Cinematography Cinematography

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Composer Composer

Costume Design Costume Design

Studios

Countries

Language

Genres

Themes

Theatrical

26 Jul 2010

01 Apr 2011

27 Feb 2013

Bosnia and Herzegovina

26 Jul 2010

France

27 Feb 2013

USA

01 Apr 2011

Popular reviews

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