Two friends, each champion marksmen, are on opposite sides in war. One turns sniper for the enemy. One remains their town's last line of defense. In a terrible battle for power, two best friends must pull the trigger. Only one will feel the bullet - but both will feel the pain.

Average Customer Review: ( 27 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

We loved this movie. The actors and their performances are superb, the gripping drama of betrayal and survival takes the viewer for a ride full of unexpected twists and turns from compassion to cruelty amongst friends, family and community in Sarajevo during the Bosnian conflict.

The invasion and ethnic cleansing of Kosovo is pre-shadowed in this story of Serbs and Muslims living together in peace then crushed with violence into war. This movie puts a human face and voice to the inner ethnic conflicts in the Balkans. The real tragedy of Yugoslavia today finds expression in Shot Through the Heart.

Definitely one of the Best Foreign movies to make a statement about the human condition at war in Europe at the close of the 20th century. That this is a true story makes it all the more significant and relevant to the conflict in Kosovo, ethnic cleansing/genocide, and war between NATO and Yugoslavia. This is deeply moving emotional movie that engages you to step in the circle of hate and war between neighbors.

15 of 15 found the following review helpful:

And your to blameJul 22, 2007
By P.K. Ryan "The Ryan Identity"
This was really quite a well-made and compelling film. Set in 1992 Sarajevo, the film begins right before the region descended into war and ethnic cleansing. It follows two best friends, one Orthodox Serb, one Bosnian Muslim, who are both snipers for the Yugoslavian Olympic team. But with the break-up of the Yugoslav nation, there will be no Olympics for these brothers-in-arms, instead they will be pitted against each other in an ethnic war. This struck me as a very realistic and gripping portrait of this turbulent situation, and it was quite heart-wrenching to watch. The struggle between loyalty to your friend, and loyalty to your nation/ethnicity/religion is a universal theme that I think everyone should be able to relate to. The film was also very well-made, not at all "low-budget" feeling as I was expecting. Four stars.

PS- I found it quite interesting that the Muslims portrayed are indistinguishable from the Serbs. They look and act just like ordinary white Slavs. This is quite the contrast to the bearded and veiled fundamentalists that we are used to seeing.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

Compelling in more ways than oneMar 31, 2006
By Rick Sanders
I expected another silly sniper movie with lots of action. Wrong. It's more of a drama than an action movie. I've also heard some say the film doesn't accurately depict exactly how events of the war unfolded, but I think that's missing the point. As with many war movies, the war itself is just a setting for the story, which is the primary attraction.

It's a very powerful depiction of how friends can be torn apart by external forces and end up doing things they would never have imagined before. I think it also does an excellent job of driving home the fact that the complex factors that hold modern society together can, with the right pressure applied in the right areas, easily fall apart and result in terrible civil strife in even the most advanced nations, not just third world countries. Every nation has it's hot-button issues lying just under the surface, and it doesn't take much bring them to the boiling point. This movie makes that painfully clear.

5 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Excellent and highly recommendable!!!Feb 09, 1999
By stephany@total.net
Shot Through The Heart shows the public what we rarely saw on the nightly news, the human side of Sarajevo and the atrocities that occured. The people of Sarajevo appear to be no different than our neighbors, friends or relatives. You form an attachment to the characters, therefore, you care what happens to the them. They are not just nameless faceless victims as portrayed on our TV screens every evening.

The movie begins before the war breaks out and takes us through the horrors of a mainly one-sided battle. The main characters, portrayed by Linus Roache and Vincent Perez,are childhood friends who are forced to fight against each other. One is a Muslim and the other a Serb. They are forced into a war they don`t believe in or even understand.

In comparison, the movie is similar to Schlinder`s List but not with the high Hollywood budget and not as detailed. Nevertheless, the Sarajevo conflict between the Serbs and Muslims can only be compared to the Holocaust. It is ethnic extermination at its worst. But, Shot Through The Heart takes the public where it has never ventured before.

See all 27 customer reviews on Amazon.com