good back-story, and good acting

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A theme that is often found throughout camp literature is the continuous impact that a camp experience has on those who have been interned against their will. It is as if the individual does not leave once released - though physically free, their mind remains to some extent trapped by their captors. "As If I Am Not There" displays this truth in heartbreaking fashion, as the audience witnesses the drastic difference between Samira at the beginning of the film, in which she happily runs through the streets of Sarajevo, and the end, in which it is almost impossible to imagine her smile. Natasa Petrovic magnificently pulls the audience in with her expressions during the close-up shots of her face, and we are unable to escape the emotions that she experiences. Scenes in which she feels pain and terror during her internment are very difficult to watch, and the haunted appearance she has at the end is not an image that readily leaves one's mind. As a film which depicts women's wartime experiences, "As If I Am Not There" is a drastically different war story from the gun fights and front line scenes we are all used to. It takes place on a very small scale, in which the world for these women becomes cut down to the size of a factory and adjacent house. These women knew nothing about the state of their families or country during this time, as indicated by their inclinations to jump at rumors of a nearby men's camp, and they rely completely on their captors for food and shelter. Though difficult to witness, "As If I Am Not There" is an important film. It brings the broad topic of camp experiences to the level of an individual human being, and the ending leaves the audience with the unsettling feeling that Samira's pain is never going to end. It is a piece of art which warns us against destruction, and reminds us that the true costs of war are not paid for by governments, but by the individuals who have had their lives ripped apart by events outside their control.

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 film was extremely difficult to watch, but to be any less than horrific would be an injustice to the victims and survivors of concentration camps during the Bosnian War. As If I Am Not There succeeds in depicting a representative camp experience for a young woman during the time of the war. The film explores the intricate complexities of relationships between abusers and victims, as well as between internees themselves. Samira, the main character, after being repeatedly raped by soldiers, is forced into a subordinate relationship with the captain of the camp in order to reap certain benefits to stay alive. Although Samira's choices are morally questionable, the film does well to address the fact that victims were willing to do nearly anything in order to survive. The film depicts the captain as a "non-monster," but his seemingly gentle nature is abusive nonetheless and he is no less of a rapist than the soldiers that brutally gang raped Samira throughout her time in the camp. For a brief moment towards the end of the film, the audience feels triumphant as the women escape the camp and appear atop a mountain. Although a fleeting moment before the audience is brought back to reality, it is extremely important in the depiction of female survivors of the war. After having spoken with survivors, they all emphasized a desire to be depicted as strong female survivors. Then, the audience is taken back to the reality that victims faced after their internment. The war did not end in 1995 for any survivors, but actually follows them everyday of their lives. In the film, the ongoing traumas of war are represented physically by Samira's baby, the product of rape, that will be a lifelong reminder of the torture she suffered. The audience is brought into Samira's mindset as she contemplates killing, leaving, or keeping the baby. The last scene shows Samira making the decision to keep the child as she breastfeeds it, and finally allows herself to cry and feel the emotions that she was forced to suppress during her time in the camp. The scene is made so powerful by Samira's lack of emotion throughout the rest of the film. She is continually dehumanized by her rapists, literally feeling as if she's nothing in the scene where she is looking on her own experience of rape and abuse from above. The poignant absence of dialogue throughout the film, except for a few conversations, strips Samira of her individuality and ability to be herself. She partially reclaims this through her relationship with the captain, but once again, this is a forced and false sense of self. Samira is truly able to be her own person at the end of the film, but she is forever changed by her experiences as a survivor of the camp.

What I want to say right away is that As If I Am Not There is one of the most powerful films I have ever seen. The film, for lack of a better way to express how I feel, punched me in the gut. The realism of the film, paired with the brilliant performance by Natasha Petrovic, brought the horrors of the Bosnian War to life in terms of the pain and the terror felt by many women. Also, for the most part, it brought to life a lot of the historical context surrounding the war. As shown in the film, men of all ages from rural villages, except young boys, were rounded up and shot on the spot throughout the more rural parts of Bosnia. The women were brought to concentration camps mainly stationed in warehouses and raped relentlessly. The one historical aspect of the film that I question is the ongoing "relationship" Samira held with the Captain. While we should more accurately label this act as survival sex on Samira's part, how often did these kinds of relationships occur in these camps? I understand that this storyline was most likely needed to be a complicated part of the overall narrative of the film, but would this kind of relationship have readily occurred to a woman who was not from Sarajevo and thus perhaps considered more modern by the Serbian soldiers when compared to her rural village counterparts? I do not believe that these acts of relations with the Captain were common and historically accurate for the majority of women who were placed in these camps, especially in terms of the meals and baths afforded Samira by the Captain. Though overall, Juanita Wilson did an extraordinary job with conveying the feelings of the women with little dialogue and unforgettable emotional messages. It is hard to find much fault in a movie that moves you so deeply and resonates with you for long after the credits finish rolling on the screen.