Shot Through the Heart (1998) Reviews

• Something you should watch

  zzis2000-04-22

  I have been in Sarajevo during the horrible civil war, and this movie shows how really it happened. I have been in all of the places they showed in the movie and, yes it is how happened. Acting is great. Actors did very good job, also music was good. This movie is one of those movies who present the real war (like Saving Private Ryan), not like many fake movies do. It is worthy of watching.

• An outstanding film on the war in Sarajevo

  RachelLone2000-11-05

  This film made a tremendous impact on me. I am stunned, overwhelmed and profoundly moved. Watching this remarkable photoplay, my emotion is intense. It immediately reminded me of a nonfiction book I had read about the war in Bosnia, it feels like all the things described in that book come to life. It's shocking. All the events depicted in this movie ACTUALLY HAPPENED. Children getting killed by pieces of shrapnel, friends being on opposite sides and their friendships being torn apart by the war, losing your family, friends, neighbors, attending one and yet another funeral of someone you knew, people being shot while they carry water...my heart broke when I watched these cruel facts portrayed in this impassioned work. It is so true to life that I felt as if I was there, witnessing the whole thing. Based upon a true story, "Shot Through the Heart" is about a life long friendship between two marksmen who are residents in Sarajevo. When the war breaks out, Vlado, a Muslim, and Slavko, a Serb, are on opposite sides and eventually, they will have to face each other. People in Sarajevo used to live peaceful and carefree lives, now their lives become tragedies all because of this hideous war. History, the sense of retaliation and false beliefs make human beings turn into killing machines. War is destruction and agony. If only we could realize it and remember the lessons we've learned. If only we could reach world peace sooner. This war drama is finely filmed, and the acting is very believable. The movie helps us understand more about the ex-Yugoslavia war that took place in the early nineties and makes us think about it, how wars affect people and the importance of making peace. I heartily recommend this film to anybody who is interested in what happened in Sarajevo.

• Great acting and all TOO real for most.

  gozor1999-07-27

  This was definitely one of the best movies I have seen in quite a while. It wasn't the most exciting and it wasn't the most inspiring, it was simply the best drama and acting depicting a horrific situation. This movie may not necessarily make you feel better about yourself but it certainly makes you happy to be living in a place where you're safe. The focus on two men who are life-long best friends and get pulled apart by surrounding events is a story that tracks back to the beginning of time and was most noticeable in the U.S. civil war. The buildup to the inevitable confrontation at the end was all too realistic and very well done. The scenes where people are okay and then suddenly fall over from being shot were very well depicted. One of the more subtle but well-done transitions was the eroding condition of the buildings and landscape as the war went on. This is one of those movies that is about something real and horrible and therefore rather difficult to watch.

• Wow! What a pleasant surprise!

  buiger2012-01-23

  Excellent TV production, harsh, moving, real. To watch it hurt me almost at a physical level, I have lived in Sarajevo, I know the city, it's people, and I understand their plight. Take it from somebody who has been there; this is a movie well made, the situations, feelings and emotions it depicts are very real, almost exactly as it was. There is no overt dramatization here, no going over the top; I almost felt as if I was there... Unbelievably good for a TV movie. If there is one weak point in the film, it is that they should have utilized local actors, they should have filmed it in the original language with subtitles. That would have made the movie even more powerful. Well done!

• accurate

  LongCarbine2005-09-29

  I was in Sarajevo at the time (7 years old) and the movie is pretty accurate. Uniforms and bad accents don't matter, its a good story, especially the trench type of warfare that was fought. A bit different from the blitzkrieg style campaigns that we see now days over the TV in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are a lot of small details that make it very realistic, like the wood for burning during the winter stockpiled in the appartments, the way people die, living conditions in general, no water, no electricity, barelly enough food, etc Somethimes that period of my life seems like it was only a dream...