Cinema
Occupation in 26 Pictures
Okupacija u 26 slika
Lordan Zafranović · 1978
Synopsis
Dubrovnik, on the eve of the war. Niko the Croat, Toni the Italian and Miho the Jew are three inseparable friends who spend their youth carefree; Toni is engaged to Ane, Niko's sister. In 1941, war, occupation and the Ustashe's rise to power break up this life: Toni dons the black shirt, Miho's family becomes a target, and Niko joins the resistance with his father, Captain Baldo.
Context
Released in 1978, it runs a hundred and sixteen minutes and was produced by Jadran film and Croatia film. The screenplay is by the director and the writer Mirko Kovač, the photography by Karpo Aćimović-Godina, the music by Alfi Kabiljo. It is the first part of a trilogy on the war, with two films from 1981 and 1986, all written with Kovač. The style ranges from lyricism for Dubrovnik to naturalistic grotesque for the occupiers, and the scene of the massacre on the coach is regarded as the most explicit violence in Croatian cinema. Presented in competition at Cannes in 1979, it circulated abroad under the title Occupation in 26 Pictures; regarded as unpatriotic in the nineties, it was only broadcast on Croatian television in 2014.
Who it is for
Almost two hours, in Serbo-Croatian, with strongly emphasised scenes of violence. It is better to know what the Ustasha state was and what happened on this coast in 1941.
Prizes and reception
Grand Golden Arena for best film at Pula in 1978, prize of the Yugoslav critics for film of the year; Yugoslavia's candidate for the Oscar.
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