No Man's Land and finishing up w/ The Bosnia List

As we watch No Man's Land this week, I'd like us to think about how Danis Tanovic's film gives us a different view of the Yugoslavian Civil War than Trebincevic's book does. Trebincevic is a Bosnian Muslim. Tanovic is also Bosnian, but not Muslim. How does his view of the Civil war differ from Trebencevic's?

This is a war story instead of, like The Bosnia List, a family story. How are the two sides--the Bosnians and the Serbs presented? How does Tanovic explain the conflict to his audience, people elsewhere in the world who may not understand the intricacies of the war? What is the role of the news reporter in this story? The UN troops? The United Nations troops w/ the blue helmets were "observers" in the conflict and weren't supposed to take sides. What does Tanovic seem to be saying about neutrality? What did you make of the conclusion of the film? How might you compare that scene to the scene that Kenan has with Petra's daughter and grandson in her apartment in Ch. 12 of The Bosnia List.

This film is a satire and an anti-war film. Satire uses humor to make fun of real-world events. It shows us how certain events/attitudes in the world are absurd. How is satire used in this film? What is the message (or messages)? What does the film seem to be saying about this war and war in general? Does it have anything to say about Serbia or ethnic cleansing?