Anatema

Just Jeeeeeesus Christ. I wouldn't even bother indulging this pile of manure enough to write a two-sentence "review" about it, but the thought that some poor sod on the other side of the globe will watch it and take it seriously makes me wanna vomit. It makes me wonder about the nature of the creators of this "film," though. I mean no disrespect to the mentally challenged, disadvantaged folks, but I really have to wonder if the creators of this picture are simply mentally handicapped? Are they of low intelligence? Are they simply evil? But then I remember: To make an effective propaganda piece, one needs to be intelligent, even artistic. This leads me to believe that the creators here are both malicious and unintelligent. Nonetheless, it is shocking to me that a human being in the 21st century can be of such low dignity and self-respect, stoop so low, lie so shamelessly about matters so serious and delicate, never once stopping to think: "What the hell am I doing? This is wrong, so horribly wrong!" If I wasn't so liberal and such a huge admirer of the art of film, I'd wish to see these people in jail. Those who live in the Balkans have likely gone through that childhood moment where their semi-senile grandma or grandpa tell them horror stories about the "others," how they are coming for them with knives, how they lust after our blood etc. Well, imagine a situation where a grandma is telling a completely insane, overblown story of the evil others and how they will come for the child if he or she doesn't eat those vegetables. This film's scrip is how that CHILD would retell the story. Indeed, it is worse than the ravings of a semi-senile grandmother. As you might have guessed, I am a Serb, and I am not particularly bothered by the implications that this kind of portrayal of Serbs can have for my people, cause it can't. It's just that stupid. Above all, this movie is a disservice to Albanians, and if a Serb ever made a piece of propaganda so primitive, lurid, and obscene and called it a film, I'd be ashamed of them.

I just watched this film on the Internet hoping for some insight on the Balkan conflict. I remember the debate in the U.S. when the talk of NATO intervention began and didn't understand the complexity of the conflict then (despite trying to follow the major news coverage). I still don't. I hoped watching this non-U.S. film would be informative. It is a low budget film. The early section does seem like propaganda. Serbs are portrayed only as villains and never victims - often in very melodramatic scenes. War crimes were committed, but they occurred on all sides with victims of all ethnic groups. This is not addressed. The movie does get better in showing the post-war aftermath. I think this is because the character of Ema is sympathetic and her countrymen are shown in a more realistic way. Some are helpful despite their own suffering; some are openly antagonistic; some are corrupt and opportunistic in the post-war chaos. I think this would be true of any nation in a similar situation. This is not the objective film I wanted, but it did give me some insight into the feelings of one side of the conflict. I don't think it deserves a 10, but neither does it lack any merit as a commentary on the war and it's aftermath.

This is genuinely, and I'm not exaggerating, the worst film I have ever seen. Because of the seriousness of the topic, it can't be a The Room "so bad it's good" type of film. This horrible monstrosity is offensive to me as a film student and as a Kosovo Albanian simultaneously. I simply wish it had never been made.

This movie is a junk! I 've seen this movie few years ago and i find it very funny.This movie is funny,because there is no truth in it,not even a little. I am from Serbia,and i can tell that there war a war crimes in Kosovo,from both sides,but storyline in this movie is stupid,acting is so bad ,that i wanted to cry and even Enver Petrovci is terrible (usualy ,he's a very good actor).This movie is made to flame up the hate of Albanian people in Kosovo toward Serbs,like they don't hate us already! Avoid this movie,not because of politics but because is a very bad,and probably you can find a better way to sped hour and a half,and not to waste it on this crap.

Particularly when one thinks of the very real context that grounds this fictional tale, the film Anatema is emotionally taxing. Ema's strength of character amidst such turmoil, however, inspires, and her story offers important insight into the inner realms of war. Sopi, like his protagonist, seeks to make known the realities of his nation's past and present, and to ignite questions that have otherwise been ignored. Through Ema's eyes, we see images through which we have known Kosovo – guns, tanks, fires, corpses – but also images of life amidst the battle that remind us of the complexity of human interactions. For Sopi, the word of war is one of stark polarity, in which the most repulsive and most tender behaviors simultaneously emerge; it is a world in which army generals bathe in rose-petaled water while children starve on the streets, but also one in which friendships are forged with exceptional loyalty, and in which the daily atrocities are sometimes redeemed, or at least lessened, by simple acts of kindness. Insightful and sincere, the film demands our attention, and urges us to take up Ema's quest for truth into our own hands.