Witnesses

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Witnesses

2003

1h 28m

Drama

War

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Josko (Kresimir Mikic) is a Croatian soldier recently returned from the front lines of the Serbian-Croatian conflict. Angry over the murder of a fellow soldier, Josko persuades two friends to help him intimidate his Serbian neighbor. Things quickly get out of hand, and Josko finds himself at the center of a murder investigation conducted by Barbir (Drazen Kuhn). Josko's mother (Mirjana Karanovic) asks Josko's brother Kreso (Leon Lucev) to help him, even as Kreso deals with troubles of his own.

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Spanning a year beginning in the summer of 1984, The Witnesses offers the considerable satisfaction of a beautifully acted ensemble piece built on the foundation of a serious subject%u2014the dawn of the AIDS crisis%u2014handled just so.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 15, 2008

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Karl French

Financial Times

An engaging if somewhat inchoate drama set in the early years of Aids.

Oct 19, 2007

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Tom Dawson

BBC.com

Bristling with emotional intensity, this is far superior to earlier AIDS-related dramas.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 19, 2007

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John A. Nesbit

Old School Reviews

revisits Kurosawa's Rashoman structure

Rated: B

Jun 9, 2013

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Ian Johnston

Total Film

A lively, timely flashback to the early days of AIDS with this character-driven drama.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 19, 2007

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Tim Evans

Sky Cinema

Techine never lapses into morbid sentimentality and it's interesting for a film to put the horror of AIDs in the 1980s in the perspective of a viewpoint 20-odd years on.

Oct 19, 2007

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Audience Member

Pretty good story telling

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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flixster f

September 03, 2014 The repetition of certain sequences, although adding to the events every time to unfold the story further, seems a bit odd. The use of nonlinear narrative may prove to be a turn off for a few good men. If you can take that, it's quite a watchable flick (based on a novel which in turn is said to be inspired from real events). The story reminded me of that saying, "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up." Just saying!! Well, enough said. 3/5 would be fair enough, IMO. Feel free to be a witness & decide the judgment for yourself.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Several of the reviews on this RT site are for the wrong movie. This is not the movie about the opera singer during the early years of AIDS.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Audience Member

Rashoman style drama set amidst the troubles after the breakup of Yugoslavia. The emotional drama is tightly clustered around a Croatian family caught up in the war and its consequences. The claustrophobia of small town life piles on even more suspense.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

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Audience Member

The plot wasn't bad, but I still got a little disappointed with this movie.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

The acting always seems so much better when they don't speak English and you have to read the subtitles. However, this was a great story. I loved the clever way the pieces all fell together and the ending was excellent.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

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Vinko Bresan

Director

Mirjana Karanovic

Mother

Leon Lucev

Kreso

Alma Prica

Journalist

Kresimir Mikic

Younger Son

Drazen Kuhn

Barbir

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Synopsis

Josko (Kresimir Mikic) is a Croatian soldier recently returned from the front lines of the Serbian-Croatian conflict. Angry over the murder of a fellow soldier, Josko persuades two friends to help him intimidate his Serbian neighbor. Things quickly get out of hand, and Josko finds himself at the center of a murder investigation conducted by Barbir (Drazen Kuhn). Josko's mother (Mirjana Karanovic) asks Josko's brother Kreso (Leon Lucev) to help him, even as Kreso deals with troubles of his own.

Director: Vinko Bresan
Producer: Ivan Maloca
Screenwriter: Vinko Bresan, Zivko Zalar, Jurica Pavicic
Genre: Drama, War
Original Language: Croatian
Release Date (Streaming): May 27, 2019
Runtime: 1h 28m