Ravna Gora

Sorry folks, but this serials ask for a thorough comment. Have you ever seen the good old Hollywood 1943 flick 'Chetnicks the fighting guerrilla'? Thats the only Hollywood movie made on Serbian guerrilla in WWII. The best scenes involve the deadly clashes between Chetniks and Germans in the treacherous mountain regions of Yugoslavia. Anna Sten, Sam Goldwyn's 1930s "answer" to Greta Garbo, co-stars as Mihailovitch's self-sacrificing spouse. Initially, some dismissed this movie because of the mistaken belief that the Chetniks collaborated with the Nazis during WWII, but as Michael Lees unequivocally proves in his book {-The Rape of Serbia}, this was actually a myth fed to Churchill by the Communist partisans of Josip Broz Tito, to convince the British prime minister to shift Allied aid away from the Chetniks. The events in this film are thus factual. This is what modern US history says. However, it wasn't that simple.

While the Time Magazine in 1942 has written 'Mihailovic - Yugoslavias Unconquered' and the rest of the US media call Chetnick leader Draza Mihailovic 'Hitler's Headache No1', the London Times headlines were saying 'David hitting the Goliath', 'Chetnics - the only free flame in occupied Europe' etc ...

Was Mr. Winston Churchill so easily deceased by the unknown communists like Tito, Pijade and Kardelj who were mostly ex cons from Sremska Mitrovica penitentiary and Lepoglava prison? The answer is - NO. Actually, truth is that Draza Mihailovic at one point said his NO to Churchill and that was his fatal mistake.

Namely, Serbian King who was in exile in London was pressured by England to push Serbian guerrilla in occupied Serbia to fight Germans. After severe losses in men against the Serbs Germans announced that 100 Serbian civilians will be shot for just one killed German soldier. Since Draza Mihajlovic was a Serb he said 'Guerilla is to protect the Serbian civilians, not to exterminate them. This is what Croat ustase and Germans are for.' So he opposed Churchill. Since Churchill never gave up the idea of the invasion at the Adriatic sea until the last moment, he wanted the severe military actions against Germans on the Balkans and not only diversions and sabotages. And there was no one else except Serbs to perform them.

Now, when Draza wasn't loyal to him any more but to Serbian people, he started looking for help elsewhere and found it with the communists. Draza said we gonna blow up the bridges and railways, trains and trucks, but won't kill Germans and cause the heavy retributions against Serbian women and children. Most of them where already killed in Nacistic State of Croatia so hardly anyone would remain.

The communists led by the unknown foreigner Tito where already involved in some small guerrilla actions to overthrown the existing system and establish communism. The commies used the chaos of war as a good background for that. Tito was not a Serb and he didn't care how many Serbian civilians will die for his cause. Since that Draza Mihailovic was an intelligence service colonel of Royal Yugoslav Army, he represented the system and Tito saw him as an enemy. This is why commies attacked Chetnics many times behind their back when Chetnicks were fighting Germans.

At the end of the war thanks to W.Churchill, Chetnics where very badly equipped while communist partisans were fully armed and fed by English and some Soviet help as well. Soviets secretly supported Tito for another reason - he was a communist too while officially they were supporting chetnics. During the war Chethicks also saved 500 US airmen in the operation Halyard assisted by American OSS. That was the greatest operation behind the enemy lines in the US history. At the end of the war Chetnics will be finally betrayed by their Anglo-Saxon Allies and left to Tito's mercy. Since he had no mercy, he executed Draza Mihailovic and his high ranked officers and many Chetnicks as well. 500 American Airmen will protest in front of the White House during that Stalinist trial but without any result since Truman, Churchill and Roosevelt had made a deal before that. Serbia will stay in the communistic dark for a half of the century thanks to her treacherous Allies.

In that dark, commies will educate new Serbian generations that Chetnicks were traitors, fascists and quislings. The consequences are visible even today when many Serbs cannot except the truth about Chetnicks - that they were not what commies were teaching us. This national tragedy has been led by current Serbian government whose media still plays pro-commie propaganda like Tito is still alive. Before this serial, the director Rados Bajic was announced as a person who want to show another way of looking to the Chetnics subject and from my point of view he did: He didn't show the Chetnics like blood thirsty killers as commies did, but even worse - he portrayed them as the bunch of incapable rascals. Its not true that this serials where showing nothing: they have shown that chetniks were walking around, eating, drinking, raping and slaughtering civilians. Draza Mihailovic who was a hero of the free world of that time and the most loved Serb among the Serbs of the war period was shown as a plane retard while commies who where allies of Hitler until July of 1941 where shown as German haters. Lets not mention the art quality of the serial that was edited just like in some freshman filmmaking class and graded C-.

All in all, very very bad days for Serbia in general.

This series presents a different view of the events in the II World War,much different than the one advocated communism. Series production is very demanding and it is the most demanding project that was recorded at the time of Serbian cinematography. Acting is not at the highest level, considering the actors names appear in the series, but Nebojša Glogovac who plays Colonel Dragoljub Mihajlovic has done an excellent job. For it is not behind a lot of Dragan Bjelogrlić who plays Tito. Director could have and should have been at a higher level with 'matter how important is this series of Serbian people. Flow in some parts of the intermittent and difficult to link the action in some episodes. Appears bunch of unnecessary characters to the events in the first round of the trilogy, which might have a greater significance in the second season.All things considered, comes to the conclusion that the Rados Bajic had to do a much better job than has been done.

The series ''Ravna Gora'' is historical-dramatic TV show, about very difficult chapter in Serbian History. The series main plot is the political and ideological division of Serbian people during WWII.Its important before talking, about quality of TV show it self, to state some historical background facts and informations.

There were two factions in occupied Serbia during WWII. The Royalist movement lead by General Draza Mihajlovic also known as ''Chetniks'' and second Communist movement lead by Josip Broz Tito known as ''Partizans''.This factions fought against each other during the war,each of factions wanted to impose its ideology to people of Serbia.The more successful faction on the end of war was, Communist lead by Tito, who was supported by allies.When communist came to power in Serbia and Yugoslavia in 1945,they wrote history books,according to their wish and the way they saw it fit.They became ultimate''Good guys'' and Heroes, and the other side Yugoslav Royalists Chetniks were evil, and they went step further,they made equal Chetniks and Ustashas(Croatian Nazis). During communist years in Yugoslavia there were number of movies and series, which were glorifying the Partizans and undermining the Chetniks.This created very negative picture about chetniks and people always consider the chetniks bad guys who collaborate with Nazis.However as we all know the history is not Black or White so in last few years, the hidden truth about Royalist is finally coming out.

This TV show is first of its kind, the first attempt to tell the real truth about Chetniks and not just represent them as viscus blood suckers,the way that communist propaganda was portraying them.The series its self is very slow paced and with long scenes,this is the directing style of the producer and writer Rados Bajic.This is drama TV show so there are very limited minor action scenes, it mainly focused on dialogs and historical events that are taking place and also it shows the life of average Serbian peasant family during this period. Everyone who understand the Serbian language should give this show a try and watch it without prejudice.

Generally is positive that finally in Serbia after many decades we are able to hear the other faction and side of the story,so that people in Serbia can have complete image about what happened during WWII.Maybe this TV show will help to close some old wounds and that Serbia move finally forward.