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Witnesses

Play trailer Poster for Witnesses 2003 1h 28m Drama War Play Trailer Watchlist
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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.

Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review Karl French Financial Times An engaging if somewhat inchoate drama set in the early years of Aids. Oct 19, 2007 Full Review Tom Dawson BBC.com Bristling with emotional intensity, this is far superior to earlier AIDS-related dramas. Rated: 4/5 Oct 19, 2007 Full Review John A. Nesbit Old School Reviews revisits Kurosawa's Rashoman structure Rated: B Jun 9, 2013 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Pretty good story telling Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Read all reviews
Witnesses

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Witnesses

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Movie Info

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