Picture Me an Enemy 2003
Distributed by Women Make Movies, 462 Broadway, New York, NY 10013; 212-925-0606
Produced by Vis a Vis Productions
Directed by Nathalie Applewhite
VHS, color, 29 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Biography, Ethics, European Studies, History, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Human Rights, Women's Studies
Date Entered: 05/05/2004
Reviewed by Brad Eden, Ph.D., Head, Web and Digitization Services, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las VegasThis video looks at the war in the former Yugoslavian republic during the reign of Slobodan Milosevic, and tries to put a human face on these conflicts through the interviews and photography of two young women and their stories from opposite sides of the battle lines. Natasa, a Serbo-Croat, and Tahija, a Bosnian-Muslim, speak about their experiences and lives during and after the wars. Both discuss their views on religion, ethnicity, nationality, and war, and how they each have come to grips with the reality of conflict, peace, and forgiveness.
Innovative camera techniques such as using archival footage, cinema verite super-8 clips, and family photos, are combined with traditional interviews and an eclectic soundtrack that provides a compelling portrait of the Yugoslavian conflict. The film is interesting not only in the way the interviews with the two young women are presented, but also in the succinct way in which the historical situation in Yugoslavia developed and escalated, by showing maps of the region and timelines of events. Both women left Yugoslavia as teenagers, and moved to the United States, where they are currently both residing. Neither woman holds any grudges or hatred towards the "other" side, and they reveal how modern media presentations of the situation in Yugoslavia were tainted and one-sided. Recommended for classes and persons interested in a personal account of what the Yugoslavian conflict was all about.