La caída de Italia

Lordan Zafranovic documents wartime events in a small Dalmatian coast village that changed hands quite frequently during World War II.

When we first arrive at the scene Mussolini's squadristi are already there but are promptly ran outta town after the capitulation of Italy. Out of the resulting power vacuum emerge even more brutal Croatian Nazi collaborators, Ustashe, before Partisan liberators triumphantly march in. Towards the end, perhaps in a politically correct effort to spread the 'bad guys' tag across all of ethnicities comprising ex-Yugoslavia, we even get a group of bearded Serbian Chetnik-Pirates for whom the Bugs Bunny cartoon seems a more suitable setting.

In the midst of all the turmoil young Partisan commander Davorin (played by Polish actor Daniel Olbrychsky who had his voice dubbed for the occasion) falls in love with Veronika (Ena Begovic), daughter of a well-off local (ever present Bata Zivojinovic also with a voice that's not his) who is viewed as a traitor by other villagers for siding with Italian ocupiers in order to save his wealth.

For someone like Davorin who holds an important position in the revolutionary movement this proves to be beginning of the end. Influenced by his newfound love he starts to slip up and make mistakes that his superiors do not appreciate in the least.

Movie is of course pro-Partisan, but it also briefly touches on some grey area issues that were at the time (early 1980s) still considered taboo in heavily censored Yugoslav movies, especially if they depicted events of NOB (People's liberation struggle - as the communists that ruled Yugoslavia referred to their WW2 involvement through Partisans). The fact this film was made a year after Marshal Tito's death when the ideological tone quickly started to loosen up, goes a long way in explaining this. As a result, the movie along with Zafranovic, probably picked up a few extra 'bold avantgarde' points at the Pula festival where it was awarded with Zlatna palma (Golden Palm) for best picture and director.

Different armed conflict scenes are almost choreographed in a misguided attempt of attaching extra symbolism and significance as if the setting and the circumstances didn't already provide enough drama. Also surprising is poor sound and picture quality, even though this was already year 1981.

However, even with it's numerous flaws "Pad Italije" holds value as a WW2 perspective from the neck of the woods we don't see depicted in cinema very often. Especially as an alternative to state-sponsored war bonanzas Veljko Bulajic and Hajrudin Krvavac were turning out in this period. In turn, it doesn't really stand the test of time, but still has its moments.

Oh yeah, did I mention that we also get to see Snezana Savic and Ena Begovic topless.

And of course no movie that has great Ranko Gucevac in it can be bad.

This 1981 Lordan Zafranovic directed film is the second part of the world war 2 trilogy started with the excellent "Okupacija u 26 slika" (1978) and the story picks up where the former left. Niko, played by Frano Lasic, the protagonist from the first film, also appears here in the first 20 minutes and thus provides the connection between the two films. The excellent Polish actor Daniel Olbrychski, known as the star of many Andrzej Wajda films, plays his friend and partisan comrade Davorin. The story is set on a small island in Dalmatia, the place where Niko has sought refuge with his now half-demented mother.

Niko has problems with leaving his old happy-go-lucky way of life behind and must pay for it with his life when his girlfriend turns out to be Italian collaborator and they are both condemned to death by the communist party. It is never really clarified however if she really was a collaborator or just using the enamored Italian soldiers to get food for partisans. Here the movie first shows that its far from a propaganda movie as the harsh nature of the communist party condemns her to death and Niko with her for refusing to leave her. Davorin executes them with heavy heart and then falls into the same trap as Niko when he falls for the daughter of the town's and island's richest man, played by beautiful Ena Begovic, then just 20 and in her first film role.

The film shows how the occupants and tormentors of the local people change from Italians to Germans and Croatian Ustashas (fascists) and then finally to Chetniks including a bloodthirsty and grotesque trio of two Circassians and one Hungarian who meet them on their way at the island. This film is important because it explored all the evils of that war, firstly those of the occupants and fascists but also in a way the hidden evil that could sometimes occur amongst partisans themselves. In the end, Davorin's younger brother Lovre is sent as a commissar to pass judgment on Davorin and he condemns his brother to death on behalf of the party for setting a group of chetniks he had captured free. Davorin's goodness prevails here as the chetniks look pitiful and war-weary but soon thereafter reveal their true nature. Once again, with heavy heart, just like Davorin when he executed Niko in the beginning, Lovre must do his duty. Its a tragic film to say the least.

Besides the aforementioned actors, Miodrag Krivokapic appears as Davorin's ill-fated brother and fellow partisan Andrija, Mirjana Karanovic plays Andrija's wife and Bata Zivojinovic plays the father of Ena Begovic, the island's rich man. This is not the best part of the trilogy, but still a pivotal work.