By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine Nolan Photos Courtesy of Dean Semler
Angelina Jolie puts her heart and soul into every acting role that she undertakes and every performance that she gives. She has taken on some very difficult and controversial roles throughout her career and they have paid off with big rewards. Jolie has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.
Jolie has been actively involved in philanthropy as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and has a large heart for those in need.
Now Angelina Jolie has stepped into the Director’s and Writer’s Chair with her first screenplay, a film full of emotion and conflict that Jolie did extensive research on in order to give audiences true authenticity and honesty in only a way that Jolie can master. “In the Land of Blood and Honey” takes us back to the 1990’s in Sarajevo and the bitter Bosnian War. With a cast of entirely Yugoslavian actors bringing their own war experience to the project, a Serb Police Officer named Danijel (Goran Kostic) meets a Muslim artist, Ajla (Zana Marjanovic) right before the war and violence begin. As they start to fall in love, the bombs go off and the awful atrocities begin.
Danijel becomes an Army Officer and Ajla is one of the women held captive and stripped of her belongings and her dignity. Is this the path that both man and woman were forced to take or could they have fought to maintain the strong bond that began to develop? Jolie explains it as “an element of survival, will they save each other, help each other or turn against each other?”
Perhaps the most ironic fact is that Jolie was only sixteen during this horrific time and a world away from the carnage which would ultimately lead to the death of over 100,000 people and millions of citizens displaced from their homes.
Angelina threw herself into deeply understanding what these people went through, the ‘ethnic cleansing’ that was forced upon them. Sadly, between 20,000 and 50,000 women were raped during this war, leading to prosecution of rape as a crime against humanity. Jolie also had to make sure that she was familiar with the Bosnian culture and spoke with Bosnians to get a first-hand view. She read books, talked to journalists and even spoke with U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke who was directly involved with the small nation at that time.
The actors and actresses gave first-hand accounts of experiences that left fearful marks on their characters. Some were painful to recount but to make it as realistic as possible, Jolie has included them in the film. Memories are sometimes the hardest to bear and filming may have been harrowing at times but the cast did a tremendous job and were pleased with Jolie’s final product.
“In the Land of Blood and Honey” was shot in English and Serbo-Croatian versions, creating a struggle to determine what will be agreeable to all.
Her biggest critics will most likely be the audiences in Bosnia and Serbia and she will anxiously be awaiting their response. The movie has already had an initial screening in Sarajevo, the Bosnian Capital and was received well. The film was limited released in the United States on December 23, 2011. Belgrade will be the next city to premiere the film in February.
Jolie was passionate about the subject and was inspired behind the camera. Her role models were Clint Eastwood and Michael Winterbottom, both whom she has recently worked with and who she hoped to similarly pattern her style after.
There must be an inspiration behind every story and when that time comes again, perhaps Angelina Jolie will be ready to try her talents at writing and directing once more.
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