Sent to Bosnia to report on the war in the early 1990s, a British journalist finds it hard to stay neutral in the conflict in this war drama from Michael Winterbottom. The film is based on the true story of a journalist who adopted a girl orphaned in the war. "We're not here to help; we're here to report" he is reminded early on, but can he just stand by and watch so many children devastated by war? 'Welcome to Sarajevo' is a noble attempt to shed light on a sad chapter in history seldom portrayed on screen, but it is also admittedly a bit of a mess. The story is very unfocused as it tries to cram so much war horror into the plot. The protagonist does not even meet and think about adopting the girl until nearly halfway in and even then there are few scenes of them bonding. His affection for her is never well conveyed and we barely get a sense of her desire to leave the country. Winterbottom's inexplicable choice to only subtitle certain portions of Bosnian dialogue is awkward too and the blaring music soundtrack never quite feels right. Stephen Dillane makes for a decent lead and the film provides an admirable snapshot of 1990s Bosnia, but the overall film unfortunately leaves a bit to be desired.

Some people can never develop an affinity with their environment long enough to know peace. Our restlessness and urge to destroy means we only absorb snapshots of the world. We can never be content with untouched beauty, something usually spoils it.Violence can make strangers of people. Even if you risk your life with someone you don't often have a clear gauge of what they're like. You can be side by side with someone or they can be on your TV screen, and you still only have a fleeting knowledge of them. Any connections you think you do make can be destroyed easily and abruptly by a well-aimed bullet.This life is transient. The Balkan regions were once a beautiful part of the world; now too many people will only remember it as a hub of civil war. Maybe one day, out of the wreckage peace will come again. Then relationships can be built, following the example of those who have been lucky enough to leave and start a new life; but ties can not be held strong across a ravaged backdrop, that's just the way it is.This film lets us see the clear joy of simple living, and the mounting cost of permanent unrest. Anyone who appreciates powerful cinema should be moved to a state of intense contemplation by watching and collectively assessing the damage that has been done.

I saw the film many times, and every time I am more and more disappointed,which is shame because the films from EX YU are usually very good. The shame here is, that Holiwood tried to make film about the place and people it has no idea. My self coming from the Balkans(Macedonia) found this film disappointing.Simply that the Bosnian characters are not really understood and not truly portrayed. To understand the mentality of a person from EX YU, you need to know their background, way of live, what makes them cry and laugh.And the director of the film didn't took that as guideline. When we(EX YU) make films, lots of symbolism is build in it, which makes the characters recognisable and likable, and mostly portraying the truth(if it is based on true story) The films like "Pritty village, pretty flame", "Tito and Me', "Underground',"No mans land', "Before the Rain","Black cat, white cat","Otac na sluzbenom putu",(When father was away on business),"Ko to tamo peva"(Who sings over there?)Rare the masterpiece of the Balkan cinematography,and nothing can compare to it. Not the half baked story of and Holiwood studio. As somebody from the panel mentioned the story jumps from one end of town to the other with no real connection. I am sorry but when the film is made is not only for the American armchair variety of viewers but for the rest of the World too, and some of them live on the Balkans and Sarajevo too. And to add insult to the injury, half of the things are shoot in Bitola ,Macedonia where I come from. Imagen my shock when I saw the Broad st. of Bitola in the opening scene of the film, when the bride is shoot from the sniper.And what was that inserting real footage of the news covering in the film? Anyway very disappointing, as the truth is far away from the film. Shame that nobody consulted the real people how is to live in Sarajevo under fire, before they shoot the film. book is one thing and real life is other, and this film lets down both.

The fearless American war correspondent Martha Gelhorn once said that of all the wars a reporter covers, you only 'love' one. Bosnia was my 'love'. The film is based on the true story of British TV journalist Michael Nicholson, who adopted a Bosnian child when covering the conflict there. The brilliant Stephen Dillane plays a reporter who questions news values when his stories about a besieged orphanage are overtaken by the Duke of York's divorce. All I did was bitch a lot and meditate on ways of barracking then UK Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd for facilitating the Bosnian genocide (Constant Reader: I grew up eventually). Nicholson/Dillane did something more constructive and adopted a young Bosnian girl with no future. It's pretty much spot on, filmed in the ruins of the real Sarajevo. Watch out for Emily Lloyd playing a thinly disguised version of Guardian correspondent Maggie O'Kane, the reporter, who along with Newsday's Roy Gutman, set the standards (moral and journalistic) for the coverage of that war. But I was still annoyed by the filmmakers' careless failure to cut the grass that grew thickly around the rubble in the five years between the actual war and the actual filming. It looked all wrong against how I remembered it. Silly but there it is.For a different take on that war, try one of Emir Kustorica's memoirs, Zivot je cudo, or the excellent BBC TV film Warriors.