Watch As If I Am Not There For Free

Memorable, crazy movie

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This film, although extremely emotionally tolling and difficult to watch, is an important film depicting a women's internment camp during the Bosnian war. The main character, Samira, provides an accurate insight into the struggles facing women in these camps. These insights reach beyond our knowledge of the already terrible rapes and assaults that were so prominent, and give a look at the internal struggles facing these women and the effects of this treatment. The beginning of the film depicts the men being separated from the women, brought outside, and all shot to death. This is such a small, short scene in the film which demonstrated the normalcy of these murderous acts. It was't something the movie had to focus in on, it was clear what was happening and no questions had to be asked. The film then moves on to the main focus: Samira's experience in this dehumanizing camp. The film contains little dialogue, however dialogue is unneeded. Samira's facial expressions, body language and actions are enough to depict the pain and suffering she experiences throughout her time in the camp. In fact, the lack of dialogue is a smart choice on the part of Juanita Wilson because it allows the viewers to feel what Samira must have felt and allows them to throw themselves into her character more than if Samira had just described her feelings in words. It also demonstrates how women in these camps really were forced into silence following the things they had to endure. After the first rape, Samira could barely speak. She struggled to recover from this haunting experience and hid away in silence for a while until she realized that she was a human, not an animal as they saw her, and swore to grasp back onto her "womanhood" by putting on makeup and trying to look nice, something the other women disapproved of. This film also depicts the blurred line of morality in these camps. When Samira starts sleeping with the captain, there is a debate among the other women that she overhears. One says they would do the same thing while the other says it's a disgrace. Samira is doing what she thinks she has to do to survive, no matter how wrong it may be. The dynamic between Samira and the captain is obviously one where the captain has the upper hand. This is clearly still a case of rape because consent cannot exist in a camp such as this. Samira is aware of her lack of power in this situation and the captain is aware that Samira will do anything he tells her to do. The captain is portrayed in a way that could be seen as not completely evil, however the fact that he takes advantage of his power in this way makes him just as bad as any other rapist in that camp. The ending to the movie is another smart choice by Juanita Wilson because it shows that the suffering goes beyond liberation from the camp. Samira will forever see the pain she went through when she looks at her child, and will forever be reminded of who the father was. There is no end to suffering no matter how physically free these survivors are.

This is certainly a harrowing film to watch, but an incredibly important one as well. The depiction of Samira's life in the detention camp during the Bosnian War is emotional and raw. The film gives an accurate illustration of Bosnia in the early 1990's, and the actors and actresses in the film show a true representation of the lives of people in these detention camps. The relationships in this film are incredibly complex as well. Samira is notably involved with the captain of the Serbian forces that are holding these women in detainment. After being raped by Serbian men she is doing the best she can to survive in this situation. This form of "survival sex" is a representative aspect of camp life. Though excruciatingly difficult to watch, Samira's role in the film brings into question a larger discussion about morality and strength. Through the figure of the captain the viewer is able to discern that pain is not just physical, there is a wide spectrum of hardship that these women faced in the camp. Psychological pain was just as real, if not more so. Despite the fact that Samira is choosing to form a sexual relationship with the captain, there is no consent here. Some of the women disagree with her decision, finding it to be morally questionable. But this brings one to wonder, where is the role of morality in the camp setting? If the victims don't even have it, who does? It seems paradoxical that morality itself can even exist in such a setting. Despite these harder questions, there is certainly an omnipotent display of strength of Samira's part. In many ways she will never leave the camp. This experience will remain with her for the rest of her life. The film gives a viewer a glimpse of that as we watch Samira try to assimilate once more back into "real life." A task she may never fully surmount, as she must now take care of her child who she conceived with the captain. Will her strength be derived from taking care of this child who will forevermore remind her of her horrific experience? Or must it come from her resilience once more? The film wonderfully depicts the complexity of the human emotions and experiences both inside and outside of the camp. A difficult task to undertake, especially if it is to be done right. Overall the film does a great job of playing with these complex but critical issues.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday MorningSamira (Natasa Petrovic) is a young teacher from Sarajevo who takes a teaching job in a small village as the Bosnian war hots up. One day, as she is taking her class, she finds everyone being rounded up by Serbian soldiers and, while she protests she is merely there to work, she nevertheless finds herself rounded up with the women. From this point on, she finds her dignity and human rights ripped to shreds, as she is subjected to the most degrading treatment imaginable as a sex object, but, to save herself and the other women, she finds the inner strength and resilience inside to rise up and be counted as a person.It's a sad fact that sometimes the most affecting, heart wrenching stories involve being told the most unpleasant, disturbing ones, in order to feel their full impact. This is certainly the case with As If I Am Not There, which delves into the terrain of the Bosnian war in the early 90s. It's perversely fitting that it was not a widely seen film, because it holds little in the way of actual entertainment value...in fact, it's probably the furthest thing from entertaining you can imagine. In fact, sometimes you just feel like a sick person for watching it. But, as unflinching and terrible as some of the treatment is to watch, you have to see it in order to appreciate just what sort of hell went on.But the strong acting and writing make it into a worth seeing film, even if it is one of the more disturbing ones you'll watch. ****

I kinda knew what to expect. The war in Bosnia was brutal. They didn't care about Geneva Conventions( I don't think they even heard about them) Rape was the instrument of the war by all sides. Thousands of Bosnian women were raped. There are many war movies but I think this movie is unique because it shows rape victims of war. Natasha Petrovic is incredible in this movie. Her eyes revealed everything every feeling. Hope to see her in different movie soon. And having read the book from Slavenka Drakulic I have to say that Juanita did great job. She didn't put blame on any side. You don't see army insignias and don't hears speeches about who started the war. You just see how innocent suffer in the war. This movie is very hard to watch and there are parts were you might even close your eyes. But it also shows strength of human being in midst of madness As a women I had to think what would I do in Samira's place. And probably the answer will be everything necessary in order to survive