A Bosnian relief force, a ragtag group of about eight men, are trekking at night towards the front, but are lost in a fog. They settle down for the night in hopes that their situation will become clearer. As they wake, they realize that they are in view of an approaching Serb unit, and all are wiped out except for two. One, Cera, is knocked out in a manner that makes him appear dead, and the other, Ciki, manages to dive into an old and now unused trench. Two Serb men are sent in to investigate the situation, and one decides to set a booby trap. He drags the seemingly dead Bosnian into the trench and plants a bouncing mine underneath him – this is a device that activates once weight is put on it, but will only detonate after it is taken off. Once weight is lifted, it bounces up in the air before detonation, thus causing more damage to the surrounding area. The Bosnian in hiding jumps out after hearing all this and shoots both Serbs. The older soldier, who planted the mine, dies immediately, but the other, Nino, is merely wounded.

    This sets the stage for the main portion of the film. The two men argue constantly, often in a darkly humorous manner, about who started the war and which side is to blame for all this. Eventually, Cera regains consciousness and the two rush over to him and tell him not to move and explain his situation to him. Nino and Ciki show themselves out in the open in hopes of getting someone to help them in their plight. This is where the UN comes into play. The UNPROFOR, the UN Protection Force, is standing by. The men on duty have strict orders not to interfere with any risky situation, as they are simply supposed to help in keeping the peace. They have grown tired of not being able to help anyone and of simply being bystanders, so they decide to go to the trench and see what the situation is. They roll through both Serb and Bosnian barricade, and language is a tough barrier to overcome. The UN force speaks French and some English. The men at the barricades do not speak either. Several claim to understand English, but as questions are asked, they simply respond ‘yes’. Eventually the UN forces arrive at the trench and see exactly what is going on – the Serb, Nino, speaks some English and can translate some, even though this angers Ciki, who repeatedly tells him that if he needs a translator he will ask for one.

    The UNPROFOR troops realize they don’t have the resources to help immediately, so they are going to try and find a person who can defuse the mine. As they begin to do this, their superior comes in over the radio and orders them to go back to their station and do nothing. As this conversation goes on, a British news reporter arrives and tells the soldiers that she has been listening to their frequency and knows that they are planning on abandoning the three men in the trench and that their viewing audience will probably find this very interesting. The soldiers are not happy about the situation either, so they use it to their advantage. They tell their supervisors that the media has found out about the circumstances, so it might be best to not simply leave. The UN higher-ups agree and send in a mine expert. The mine expert is a German, which further confuses the language situation, although he does speak English. He looks at the situation and realizes that he cannot defuse the mine and does not think there is anyone anywhere who can do so.

    While the Oscar success speaks for the critical success of the film, it does not mean much concerning its accuracy and eye for detail. Looking at various aspects shows how the director took his time to make No Man’s Land an accurate portrayal from an insider’s perspective. He blames neither side for the conflict and makes both the Serb and Bosnian sides seem idiotic and often incompetent. They are both lazy and unsure of what is going on at the front lines. While these two sides are not portrayed in an overly negative light, simply a humorously inept one, the UNPROFOR is clearly seen as useless. These men have a desire to help, but are ordered not to. When they do finally disobey and go to the front to try and help, they do nothing but make the situation worse.

    They clearly mean well, but are in a situation that they do not understand and in which they do not have the capacity to do much good, if in fact any. Sergeant Marchand, one of the UNPROFOR troops, tells the reporter that by being neutral towards the situation, they are, in fact, not being neutral, “Neutrality does not exist in the face or murder,” he says.“Doing nothing to stop it is, in fact, choosing. It is not neutral.” This speaks for how many Bosnians likely felt about the situation. They could undoubtedly understand the UN’s tricky position, but nevertheless were infinitely frustrated at how they time and time again did nothing to help them.

    One of the more powerful scenes in the film is actual footage from the war. It shows Radovan Karadzic, the Serb militia leader in Bosnia, giving a speech. He says that the Bosnians are leading themselves into hell, on the same path as Croatia and Slovenia, and that their actions could lead to the extinction of the Bosnian Muslims. Then there is more footage of the damage caused by the Serbs in Bosnia shown while a reporter speaks on how the Bosnians are unable to defend themselves because of a UN weapons embargo. This scene sums up what the director is trying to say in the film. The UN means well but is simply in over its head by having only peacekeeping forces and not something a little more active. It also speaks to how outside forces simply cannot fully understand the situation at hand. While they certainly mean well, they have not been in the region long enough to understand the depth of this brutal conflict.

    Overall the film does an excellent job of bringing this conflict to a Western audience. It is funny and violent, thus making it appealing to a fairly broad group of viewers, but at the same time it carries a deeper message of confusion and lack of hope that dominates the region. It provides an insider’s view of the conflict and can serve as a very useful tool for studying the situation. The fact that it is a film does not affect its usefulness as a tool for analyzing a historical situation; in fact it seems to add to it. It provides a very human touch that perhaps a memoir could partially portray, but adds the visual effects and sounds that only a visual medium can provide. It is an excellent film for those who have an interest in the conflict, or simply for those who enjoy movies.