Sunday 18 December 2011

Angelina Jolie's harrowing war film startles the critics

Angelina Jolie's name has remained a byword for sex appeal for longer than most film stars could hope, but the 36-year-old Oscar-winner's status as one of the most compelling women in Hollywood is about to change. Her harrowing directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, has been met with such unexpected critical acclaim that a future for the actress behind the camera, as well as on screen, now looks certain.

The film, which premiered in New York this month, has already been recognised with a Stanley Kramer award for work in the cinema that draws attention to injustice and social issues. Last week it also received a Golden Globe nomination. And, in stark contrast to the recent directorial foray by fellow millionaire performer Madonna, Jolie's film has been judged by critics as an authentic attempt to inform and entertain.

"It's clear within the first few minutes of In the Land of Blood and Honey, a blunt and brutal look at genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s, that this is a serious piece of work and not simply a vanity project for its debuting writer-director," wrote the Hollywood Reporter.


Read more @ The Guardian

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