‘No Man’s Land’ is a war time movie that satirizes the War of the Balkans. Produced by Danis Tanovic, ‘No Man’s Land’ depicts more than the horrors and the vagaries of war. The movie depicts the complexities that are likely to rise in a conflict situation especially with with regards to international relations. More significantly, ‘No Man’s Land’ clearly depicts the importance of conjuncture and freedom of action in international relations.
The plot in ‘No Man’s Land’ is a clear depiction of war time scenario. The movie begins with two soldiers trapped in a trench with no way of escape. This scenario is compounded by the fact that the two soldiers belong to opposing camps; Ciki is a Bosniac while Nino is a Serb.
Despite their predicament, the two are in constant state of disagreement. Nevertheless, it is ironical that they eventually find a common ground with regards to seeking for help. Many people argue that the presence of a Cera, another Bosniak soldier standing on a landmine, complicates the situation.
Cera cannot move since it would be fatal for all the three. However, the complexity of the situation is compounded by the presence of the United Nations peace keepers and the media. Marchand, a French soldier serving as UN peace keeping force with UNPROFOR violates the high command protocol and attempts to save the three soldiers. The fact that the mine cannot be diffused further escalates the complexity.
Fortunately, an English journalist exposes the saga to the outside world. UNPROFOR hatches a deceptive plan aimed at controlling the damage caused by the saga by spreading lies to the effect that Cera has been saved.
The truth is that Cera is left alone in the trenches. In order to obliterate the evidence, UNPROFOR secretly convinces both the Bosnian and Serbian camps that each opposing force is likely to reclaim the disputed territory and encourages each side to defend it. Cera dies in the ensuing confrontation (Tanović, 2001).
‘No Man’s Land’ is not a mere war time movie. It depicts the complexities of war time scenario especially with regards to international relations. Of particular importance are issues regarding conjuncture and the freedom to act. Conjecture is a situation where “different competing forces meet by coincidence” (Christison, 2002). Meeting of forces can be facilitated by the prevailing local and international conditions.
Where conditions are appropriate, conjecture facilitates better decision making between countries, which leads to improved international relations. On the other hand, where the conditions are inappropriate, difficulties straining international relations are likely to be experienced. In recent times the most appropriate examples of conjecture in international relations are the World Wars (Arim, 2001).
‘No Man’s Land’ depicts inappropriate conjecture between Bosnia, Serbia and the UN, and is offers insights on the past current and future relations between these three forces. Additionally, as explained earlier, freedom of action is an important element in international relations.
Decision makers usually take into consideration the prevailing conditions in determining the most appropriate course of action. This is evident in ‘No Man’s Land’, especially with regards to Marchand’s decision to act autonomously and attempt to save the three soldiers.
‘No Man’s Land’ offers insights into conditions that are likely to shape international relations. Set during the War of the Balkans, the movie highlights the importance of analyzing the prevailing condition in determining the best course of action.
Reference List
Arim, R. (2001). Foreign policy concepts: conjuncture, freedom of action, equality. Ankara: Foreign Policy Institute Press
Christison K. (2002). Palestine. Christchurch: Counterpunch.
Tanović, D. (Executive Producer). (2001). No man’s land [DVD]. Paris: Océan Films.