In the Land of Blood and Honey (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

In Angelina Jolie's first film as a writer-director, she unfolds a tragic love story set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War. In a land where people of different cultures long lived in peace, there was a brief moment when love blossomed between Ajla, a Muslim artist, and Danijel, a Serb police officer. Then violence tore through the nation, pitting neighbor against neighbor. Now, Ajla has been taken prisoner -- saved from the darkest horrors of war only by her captor, Danijel. As circumstances place them on opposite sides of the conflict, their relationship is ravaged by questions of loyalty and betrayal.

It's unlikely that Shakespeare had Bosnia-Herzegovina in mind when he wrote Romeo and Juliet, but Angelina Jolie's In the Land of Blood and Honey makes the location change seem like a logical fit. In 1992, her star-crossed lovers, Danijel (Goran Kostić) and Ajla (Zana Marjanović), are just getting to know each other when war breaks out. Danijel, a Serbian policeman, becomes a captain, and Muslim artist Ajla becomes a captive. When Ajla ends up in Danijel's camp, he attempts to protect her without attracting undue attention, so she serves the men meals, but the threat of rape is always around. After the army reassigns Danijel to Sarajevo, she's left to fend for herself, while her sister remains at home, surrounded by snipers. Lejla eventually ends up in hiding, like Ajla, who will again find herself under Danijel's protection, at which point they resume their relationship, but then his high-ranking father (Rade Šerbedžija) gets wind of the arrangement, just as UN peacekeeping forces move in on the Balkans. They're two individuals out of thousands, but their fates illustrate the futility of war, in which fear and resentment can turn the warmest hearts cold. Some scenes last a few beats too long, others could use more breathing room, but Jolie effectively tackles difficult material, aided by a strong cast, a subtle score, and an avoidance of Hollywood tropes, like recognizable American actors. It's the opposite of light entertainment, but she puts human faces on one of the grimmest chapters in 20th-century history. --Kathleen C. Fennessy