Grbavica delivers as a real-life family drama. It is refreshing to see acting more genuine than melodramatic, and yet still make for dramatic effect. The film may be a bit difficult to follow in places if you are unfamiliar with the culture (I am) but overall, the cultural aspect makes the film moreso interesting than confusing. All-in-all, Grbavica is a refreshing change from your typical studio films.

The other reviewers here have said most of what I wanted to say but...this is a very subtle yet so moving film. It didn't sound that interesting initially, but most of the descriptions leave out the spoilers (expected) but those spoilers will knock you off your chair emotionally--even as you can just about figure them out as the film progresses. I can't imagine a dry eye in any movie theater at the end of this extremely powerful movie.

A truly Beautiful Heart Warming Story 9 out of 10 Bosnian movies are about the Balkan Conflict but this stands out of the lot . This is a beautiful drama which concentrates on the complex relationship between a Mother and Daughter . This examines intricate nuances delicate relationship between rape victim and resulting offspring . This gives us facets on love born out of pure hate. Its a window in a posat war Bosnia . With two main characters exploring lives and new avenues .The coming of age of the daughter with the mother re-examining her mindset towards a life.Mirjana deservedness a lot of praise portraying struggles of a rape victim, torn between motherhood and struggle reinventing herself.Even the subplot between Sara and her flame is quite engrossing and doesn't feel stale . The only Con I can find is Kira Knightly ? ( Aurthur Sucks and Knightly is antitheses of everything Cool) The theme of the movie is Motherhood and the pure love of a mother towards her child

A powerful reflection on the cruelty of war in the former Yugoslavia and its sad results.

This would be more powerful if we more fully understood the culture of Bosnia-Hergovina and the Balkan war. Aside from that, this is an eye-opening look at the aftermath of war when all you want to do is lead a normal life.

Life in a post-war world!

Excellent film with a talented cast.

Interesting and sad story, that's both heartbreaking and down to earth. The actors does an alright job, but there is something missing here. It does'nt get a grip of me and I felt a bit bored at times. The camera use, the colors and music where uninteresting and flat for me. Not a bad film, but an important film that should have been a bit better.

Un 98%??? Oso de oro? No me lo puedo creer. Película tediosa y lenta donde las haya. Sí, toda una tragedia la guerra de los Balcanes y sí toda una lucha de una mujer "viuda" por sacar a su hija adelante, pero no consigue despertar el interés del espectador.

Incredibly finely handled filming of a horrific subject matter.

Bosnian mother and daughter coping with everyday lifes with dark clouds of past over their heads in a country ruined by war ...

I have to say I liked this a lot, in a weird way. Dark, sad, heartbreaking and even depressing. Still very enjoyable. And excellent performances from the two main female characters.

Movie about how the dysfunctional family of a single mother and her child deal with the aftermath of the Balkan War. Why their lives are as messed up as they are is slowly revealed.

A powerful heartbreaking depiction of the life in Bosnia in the aftermath of the war though the eyes of a single mother, her teenage daughter and a love interest who appeared in the woman's life. It's merely a coincidence that I watched this movie today, right in the middle of the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre. The movie is simple and indirect with its approach, characters were well written, but the acting was so-so. The movie reminds me of the Peruvian Golden Bear winner of 2009, The Milk of Sorrow, which deal with a similar subject, but with a very different approach, and IMO it was much powerful than this one in all aspects

A powerful heartbreaking depiction of the life in Bosnia in the aftermath of the war though the eyes of a single mother, her teenage daughter and a love interest who appeared in the woman's life. It's merely a coincidence that I watched this movie today, right in the middle of the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre. The movie is simple and indirect with its approach, characters were well written, but the acting was so-so. The movie reminds me of the Peruvian Golden Bear winner of 2009, The Milk of Sorrow, which deal with a similar subject, but with a very different approach, and IMO it was much powerful than this one in all aspects,

Harrowing yet ultimately powerfully uplifting. Highly recommended.

Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic made an excellent movie about the true story of woman during the war in former Yugoslavia. Many Bosnian women had been raped by Serb soldiers, and this movie showed the issue but in a very unusual way.The touching and real story was very simple but showed in a very delicate way through the relationship of an abused mother in a women camp and her spoiled and rebel teenage daughter. The performances of Mirjana Karanovic as Esma and the direction of Jasmila Zbanic were awesome and the result of the movie will certainly makes me want to watch this movie twice."

In 1992, in the aftermath of Bosnia's controversial declaration of independence from Yugoslavia (turned into, at that point, the "Serbocratia" of Milosevic), Bosnian Serb troops, aided by the JNA (Jugoslav National Army) from Belgrade, almost completely surrounded the city of Sajarevo and laid siege to it. For the next four years Sarajevo's citizens had to assimilate their daily routine into the devastating and harsh fighting that was going on around them. There was no real safe zones besides a UN controlled airport that could only be reached by a small hidden tunnel which barely supported an average sized man. Furthermore, the weapons embargo placed on Yugoslavia meant that the citizens of the city were entirely outgunned by the professional Serbian army that surrounded them. Inside, the locals had to learn to duck and dodge sniper fire from the surrounding hills, avoid artillery shellings, mines, and machine gun fire. One of the most notorious areas of the city was the quarter of Grbavica. The area was to come under the control of Serbian troops and remained in their hands even after the the siege was lifted. It has been documented that in Bosnia itself throughout the war very well close to 20,000 women were raped by paramilitary and regular troops. Grbavica has since come to represent this gross brutality.

A real good and powerful drama about the results of the recent war in Sarajevo. It is so important to see movies such as these because they are making the viewer understand that such wars are useless and should never be repeated wherever in the world. Watch this, tell it to your children and never let history repeat itself! Thanks Sancar for recommending this movie.

good movie, but it was made mostly for those who already know some background info of the Bosnian war, since it doesn't really explain much.