As If I Am Not There

O equivalente a testemunhos filmados de sofrimento em campos de concentração. Um drama cru e silencioso sobre as atrocidades cometidas contra as mulheres (e raparigas) na Bósnia-Herzegovina entre 1992 e 1995. Através dos olhos de uma jovem mulher que se encontrava no lugar errado na altura errada. Quase todo o filme tem lugar num acampamento feminino, numa atmosfera sufocante, numa área desertificada com três casernas. A maior parte das coisas desagradáveis (a matança, a violação, a humilhação) ocorre fora do ecrã, mas existe uma cena naturalista — e é mais longa do que o espetador se sente à vontade. A minimalista Natasa Petrovic no papel principal é suficiente, o cameo de Skarsgård é um deleite. No final, o filme passa de um deprimente relato do campo para uma reflexão sobre as consequências de atos horríveis, com os quais a personagem principal não só terá de viver nas suas memórias, como terá de as aceitar como o seu próprio sangue na família... Não posso dar 4* — a segunda metade do filme (a relação com o capitão) é menos credível na psicologia das personagens e das suas ações. Mesmo assim, esta é uma experiência poderosa e memorável depois da qual não será fácil de adormecer. (02/03/2012)

I am surprised this film was made by the Irish, considering it takes place at the Balkans. I don’t think the Balkans have anything to be embarrassed about. What this film shows really happened in their countries in the nineties and it was so disgusting that when trying to describe the Balkan war, I am often left speechless. This film often lacked more dialogue or at least clear explanations. Everything relied on the audience explaining everything for themselves. Sometimes the camera shots were so drastic that if you saw them in real life, it would be really hard to recover from. Similar shots are featured in the Russian war movie Come and See. Like I say, As If I Am Not There is a really hard film to process. The Balkan war woke the worst instincts in the local men and developed them to the maximum. I don’t say other wars didn’t do that as well, but here it is still pretty recent. (14/01/2018)

As If I Didn't See It. Check out the poster and keep yourself engaged for 40 minutes. Congratulations, you're almost halfway through the movie. The Bosnian-Serbian conflict is sadly starting to become my cinematic nemesis, because after the awful Twice Born, this is yet another whiny tryst of apathetic women in the same setting, where you can still see the unsteady hand of a not-very-talented debutante unable to trouble the cast and crew enough to achieve the rawness and authenticity of the scenes depicted. All of that is simulated here instead by the barn in the field and the main character's expression, which only raises the suspicion that she might be made out of rubber. In the end, though, the worst part of the film is the director's decision not to make any comment on the political background to the conflict, and unless you have some exposure to the period, you won't be able to tell what kind of oppression she is suffering under. Thus, it becomes not an account of the horrors of war perpetrated on women, but a purely ideological war of weak women against uncouth and stupid men. (29/08/2014)

A powerful story, no question about it. A young woman travels to a troubled country to teach. It is not a distant country; it is Bosnia and Herzegovina. The woman here suffers, and her suffering is portrayed with an incredible realism by the camera, which definitely has the right, unsettling effect on the viewers. Still, the film didn't impress me that much. (23/06/2016)