Bosnia and Herzegovina / All works
Cinema
Walter Defends Sarajevo
Valter brani Sarajevo
Hajrudin Krvavac · 1972
Synopsis
At the end of 1944, the German high command decides to withdraw General Löhr's army group from the Balkans and plans to refuel its tank columns at a fuel depot in Sarajevo. The head of the resistance in the city, a mysterious man known as Valter, threatens the operation, but nobody knows what he looks like. Colonel von Dietrich, of the SS security service, then has the resistance infiltrated by an agent who passes himself off as Valter, and the partisans find themselves caught up in a game of betrayals and impostures.
Context
The character is inspired by Vladimir Perić, known as Valter, who led the city's clandestine resistance. Written mainly by Đorđe Lebović and carried by Bata Živojinović, Ljubiša Samardžić and Rade Marković, the film shows Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats united in the struggle, according to the slogan of brotherhood and unity, and departs from the partisan film through its single hero. Emir Kusturica makes his first screen appearance in it, in a small role. Distributed in sixty countries, it triumphed above all in China, where it was the most popular foreign film of the seventies.
Who it is for
For those who like action and spy films, and want to understand why Sarajevo made Walter its emblem.
Prizes and reception
Seen, according to the director's biographer, by more than one and a half billion viewers, it gave its name to cafés and to a rock album.