minjoo-00707 Even after the screen turned black, I could not get some brutal images out of my head. Throughout the whole time, I was cringing every second to the extent that my body actually hurt in the end. It was painful not because it was a terrible movie, but because it was so powerful in many different ways. The actress was absolutely flawless in conveying the emotion and maintaining the tension throughout, and the director did a wonderful job putting it together through unique editing technique that involved segmented scenes, shots focusing on facial expressions, and few dialogues. Moreover, this movie intentionally leaves some of the controversial issues regarding concentration camps ambiguous, providing a room for the audience to contemplate on them and form their own opinions. One of the major moral controversies arising regarding the concentration camps is the matter of survival sex. The main character, Samira, is sexually violated in the concentration camp by Serbian soldiers. After experiencing and observing repeated incidents, she decides to not succumb to this cycle. She goes to meet the captain and engages in a sexual relationship with him in order to survive through the camp. There are two perspectives in viewing her action: using sex for survival or regaining her identity as a woman. If one views her action as an example of survival sex, it becomes morally questionable. If she was a perfect victim previously, she now chooses not to be one, thus using her sexuality for survival. The movie conveys both sides through the fellow victims talking behind her. Some support her actions, but others criticize her. By showing both sides, the movie deliberately chooses not to make a decision, allowing the audience to continue on with the conversation. The most emotionally poignant scene personally is the later part of the movie when she realizes that she is pregnant. This part actualizes the concept that the camp never leaves the victims. Imagine having to raise the perpetrator's baby. The complex emotions she must have felt are well delivered through her facial expressions, flashbacks, and her conflicting actions. The peak is when Samira bursts into tears, which contrasts to the straight face she has kept throughout the entire camp experience. Choosing that as the last scene of the play was also a smart choice, as it had a powerful impact on the audience.

bnair-14502 To start off, this film was one of the most gruesome and intense films I ever laid eyes on. Through illustrating scenes of women being raped, women being abused and women treated inhumanely, the director definitely wants her audience to sympathize and empathize with the women that were affected physically and mentally. Even though some of the women survived the camp, there experiences at the camp is something that will never go away and thus there lives will never be the same as well. The way women were traumatized is unheard of through history to be honest. Additionally, this film was extremely accurate in terms of how women were treated and how they proceeded once they were released from being held captive at the camp. Also, the director wants her audience to realize that monsters come in all forms, which is illustrated through the juxtaposition between the way the soldiers treated her vs the way the captain treated. Even though it seemed like the captain treated her better, towards the end of the film the captain chokes her, which illustrates that he is just like the other soldiers that raped her. This movie did a great job of illustrating the ethnic internment of Bosniaks during the Bosnian War.

anninapluff This is certainly a harrowing film to watch, but an incredibly important one as well. The depiction of Samira's life in the detention camp during the Bosnian War is emotional and raw. The film gives an accurate illustration of Bosnia in the early 1990's, and the actors and actresses in the film show a true representation of the lives of people in these detention camps. The relationships in this film are incredibly complex as well. Samira is notably involved with the captain of the Serbian forces that are holding these women in detainment. After being raped by Serbian men she is doing the best she can to survive in this situation. This form of "survival sex" is a representative aspect of camp life. Though excruciatingly difficult to watch, Samira's role in the film brings into question a larger discussion about morality and strength. Through the figure of the captain the viewer is able to discern that pain is not just physical, there is a wide spectrum of hardship that these women faced in the camp. Psychological pain was just as real, if not more so. Despite the fact that Samira is choosing to form a sexual relationship with the captain, there is no consent here. Some of the women disagree with her decision, finding it to be morally questionable. But this brings one to wonder, where is the role of morality in the camp setting? If the victims don't even have it, who does? It seems paradoxical that morality itself can even exist in such a setting. Despite these harder questions, there is certainly an omnipotent display of strength of Samira's part. In many ways she will never leave the camp. This experience will remain with her for the rest of her life. The film gives a viewer a glimpse of that as we watch Samira try to assimilate once more back into "real life." A task she may never fully surmount, as she must now take care of her child who she conceived with the captain. Will her strength be derived from taking care of this child who will forevermore remind her of her horrific experience? Or must it come from her resilience once more? The film wonderfully depicts the complexity of the human emotions and experiences both inside and outside of the camp. A difficult task to undertake, especially if it is to be done right. Overall the film does a great job of playing with these complex but critical issues.

ntaylor-28563 As If I Am Not There is a film that explores a very harsh reality through one woman's experience in a camp for Bosniak Muslim women. The film greatly succeeds in allowing the audience to better understand and feel the same emotions that these women felt. The director, Juanita Wilson, utilizes her cinematographer and her editor wonderfully as the shots primarily take the place for the almost haunting lack of dialogue. The film features primarily close ups and medium shots of small, tight interiors. When there is an occasional long shot, the background is frequently blurred, especially blurring out the soldiers. This simulates how the protagonist, Samira, felt during her time. The cinematography creates a feeling of anxiety, unawareness, and tension. These women had no concept of the outside world. These camps temporarily became their world. All they knew was what surrounded them. There was no available information about the war, nor how long they would reside there. Any information they could obtain was through rumors that oftentimes proved false. There is a scene in particular that I would like to highlight. In the beginning of the film, there is a long, extended shot of the women reacting to the men being executed in their village. The director deliberately chose to show each and every male walking out of the building, as the women watched through the window. This scene depicting the women's reactions lasted through the entirety of the men being killed. Every bullet was heard, and the scene was not finished until every male had died from each bullet. In any other film, the director or editor would have chosen to cut early as we understand what is happening, and forcing the audience to wait through this entire sequence is unnecessary and repetitive. But Wilson has a message here. That every single bullet took an individual life. We see the wives and mothers react to their husbands and sons being killed, and yes, it is emotional. But knowing that every gunshot heard took a life is greatly impactful. Not showing the execution further allows the audience to be placed within the women's experience. The gunshots heard last for a very long time with great lengths of time between sets of gunshots. These pauses create a slimmer of hope for both the audience and the women that perhaps their loved ones made it out alive by running or resisting. But by the end of the sounds, it is clear that they are all dead. The film features many shots such as this that, although small, create a great impact on placing the audience within the experience itself.