Battle of Neretva.

‘On Neretva in occupied Europe, we have fought one of the most famous and most human battles – battle for saving the wounded. The fate of the revolution was at stake, and here the brotherhood and unity of our nations won’.[1]

 

The brave Partisan Army.

In the beginning of 1943 Hitler ordered the destruction of the free Partisan Republic of Yugoslavia. The German high command had become concerned about the possibility of an Allied landing in the Balkans. This was of particular concern due to the substantial resources they were extracting from Yugoslavia, including timber and copper. In the event of an Allied landing, resistance forces in Yugoslavia would be likely to interfere with German defensive operations as well as continued resource extraction. Hitler’s orders were to take no prisoners sparing neither the women nor children. The partisans and thousands of refugees, including the wounded and these sick with typhoid, left the city’s behind and begin a hazardous trek northward to the Bosnian Mountains. Their goal was to cross the treacherous Neretva gorge over the only bridge in an attempt to get to safety. Their trip was fraught with danger having to face German tanks and air force, Italian infantry, Chetnik Cavalry, disease and the natural elements. This mammoth exodus was an attempt to move a nation and its culture to beyond the iron grip of Germany and their allies and on to safety. Those that refused or could not join this gigantic migration were hung or shoot by the multinational force that was close on the heels of Tito’s brave partisans and his people.

Picasso's Film poster.

Based on a true story of WW2 that depicts the historically correct patriotic battles between the Yugoslavians and the combined enemy axis.[2] The first class cinematic depictions of this epic cross country flight and final battle was the most expensive motion picture ever made in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the seventh most expensive non-English movie ever produced. The budget for the extras alone would, I imagine, be able to finance a small modern day production! The movie has some familiar faces that European audiences will recognise including Yul Brynner as Viado the man in charge of the Engineers that booby trapped the roads and blow up the giant railway bridge over the Neretva River in Jablanica. A bridge that was actually blown up, rebuilt and blown up again but because of the excessive smoke coursed by the explosion the footage was never used, instead the scenes of the bridge being blown up that eventually ended up in the movie were shot using a small scale table size replica at a sound stage in Prague. We also have Orson Welles as the Senator in charge of the Chetnik’s, Curd Jürgen’s as General Lohring leader of the German High Command, Hardy Kruger as Colonel Kranzer head of the German ground forces and Franco Nero as Captain Michele Riva the Italian commander who deserts and joins the Partisans because of his hatred of the fascist regime. But the real stars of the film are the Yugoslavian and East European actors like the beautiful Sylva Koscina,[3] Segey Bandachuk, Lyubisa Sanadzic and Boris Dvornik, names that that you will not be quite so familiar with, but who make this movie totally convincing. 

 

The bridge.

The Croatian film director Veljko Bulajic who also wrote the screenplay directed the movie.[4] He is best known for directing state sponsored Yugoslav WW2 themed Partisan films and you can see why. The authentic battle scenes where the male and female partisans fight side by side must rank as some of the best ever filmed and certainly compare with modern WW2 films. I’m not always sure that the subtitles always allowed you to understand the subtleties of the story and the DVD transfer is a little lacking but this does not detract from a film that shows what state sponsorship of the film industry can produce. Watching the film you can’t help but wonder how man can do these things to each other?

 

Sylva Koscina.

See also Cinema Komunisto for further information on the Yugoslavian film industry.  

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[1] Marshal Josip Broz Tito President of Yugoslavia 1953-1980

[2] Pablo Picasso created the poster for the film.

[3] Her English film debut was in 1964 when she co-starred along side Dirk Bogarde in the comedy Hot Enough for June.

[4] The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Cinema Komunisto.

One of the most interesting documentary’s I have seen recently was about something that I knew little about. Mila Turajlics Cinema Komunisto (2010) covers the politically charged history of Yugoslavian cinema from 1945 until 1991 and embraces the important part film lover Josip Broz, known to his countrymen as Tito, played in what was one of the leading film industry’s in Europe. It is also the story of a country that no longer exists - except in the movies.

 

Tito with his wife.

In June 1946 following the end of WW2 the government of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia created the State Committee of Cinematography to establish film production companies in various parts of the country. The first and the biggest was Avala Films located in the Socialist Republic of Serbia’s capital city Belgrade. Built and financed by the State it became an important part of Yugoslavia’s political regime that was happy to use it as a propaganda tool.  It produced its first feature film in 1947 and up until its last production, in the year 2000, the studio participated in the creation of 400 documentaries, 200 feature films and 120 co-productions with foreign companies; its pictures won more than 200 awards in various world wide film festivals. 

The Avala Film Studios.

When Yugoslavia split from the Soviet Union in 1948 it meant that no more films from the Mosfilm Studios were to be made or shown in Yugoslavia so the studio turned to America and managed to attract Hollywood productions and actors, including Yul Brynner, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren and Orson Welles to come and use their facilities. Two of the best-known movies were The Battle of Neretva (1969) starring Brynner, Welles, Hardy Kruger and Franco Nero with Picasso designing its film poster and The Battle of Sutjeska (1973) starring Burton as Tito. Both were historically correct patriotic war films depicting the role of the Yugoslavians in fighting the Nazis.  Avala Film Studios became known as the Hollywood of the East with an instruction from central government to ‘never let them (the American’s) notice they are not in Hollywood’[1]  

 

Tito's private projectionist Leka Konstantinovic.

It was alleged by his own personal projectionist Leka Konstantinovic, a man who still obviously has a great regard for his own boss, that Tito, who was a big film fan, watched a movie every day for 32 years totalling 8801 films. His favourite genre was the Western. He also made sure that Yugoslavia had its own Film Festival each year at Pula.

 

Various A-List Hollywood stars came to Yugoslavia. Tito seen here with Elizabeth Taylor....

.... and here with Kirk Douglas. 

Jacques Ranciere the French philosopher said of the cinema that ‘The history of cinema is the history of the power to create history’ Allegedly in Tito’s Yugoslavia all school children, along with the countries workers were expected to see the films made in their own country.  Yugoslavia was second only to France for being a European country in which domestic films were more watched than foreign films. But unlike almost anywhere else behind the old Iron Curtain Western films were widely distributed.[2] A most interesting and informative piece of documentary film making that I would highly recommend.

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[1] Liberated Cinema. The Yugoslav Experience by Daniel J Goulding first published in 1985. It was the first book on Yugoslav cinema written by a western scholar. Goulding’s interest started in 1972 by accident knowing nothing at that time about their film industry. Long visits and study trips between 1972 and 1980 resulted in the most thorough research into Yugoslavian films ever undertaken. To write about the films accurately Goulding had to watch hundreds of films without the help of any under titles. In 2002 he returned to the former Yugoslavia to carry out research for an update to his book.  

[2] Mila Turajlic. Interview Sight and Sound December 2012.