Sangue al km.148

This title was very well executed for such a simple concept. The introduction does well to grip the viewer from the start, which helps with the slow pace (which itself isn't a bad thing). The main of the film does well to keep the viewer interested with the many different stories often giving many things to look forward to near the end of the film, and nearing the end of the film gives a lot of last minute surprises that helps lead towards the final scene which doesn't dance around the point any more than it needs to.

As already said in other reviews, one of the things that adds to the charm is there is a lot of topics for a film based in Croatia that have been covered many times before by tons of different Crotatian films, but this film completely avoids even a slight mention of these topics and sticks to the actual aim of the film; to tell a story that has no relevance to what is happening in the country politically.

I'm a big fan of the Yugoslav cinematography, it has provided a lot of masterworks throughout the country's short life span. Film making was treated as very important, almost like a vital industry, rather than just craft. Everything was usually on high level, acting, directing, editing, production, so it's not strange that even smaller movies were often quite good.

Knowing that, I was still surprised how excellent H-8 is. Quite original in its story and tone, it almost feels like an episode from The Twilight Zone, way before that show even existed. You are first given the facts, as on a police report, and then you get to see the actual stories of the passengers in the two collided vehicles, filling in the details who performed what action and why.

I can't believe that movie this good was never once mentioned anywhere in the anthologies of the Yugoslav film. I ran into it quite by accident, having no idea that it ever existed. My warm recommendation to anyone!

H 8 is a film from my home country Croatia and i must admit that this film nust be one of the best that my country ever made cause God knows how many awful films we made through history but this one and few others are proof that we have filmmaking talent but only wrong people are suitable for making films except the good and talented ones.Story in this film was quite fresh during that times cause then they didnt have this kind of films very often so this film was quite original and fresh back then.Characters are also good and their conversations and interesting till end. H 8 was a film that surprised me a bit

A great and extremely tense Croatian film. At first we see the very end of the film however this takes absolutely nothing away from the uncertainty. If I have to look for flaws in this film then I would say that at times there are too many characters and stories to follow (there is no main character) and how the middle of the film is a little weaker than a great start as well as the third act when more things are revealed and the tension grows the closer we get to the very end of the film.

There are many things I don't understand, like - for instance - why is a boring and pretentious mess like "2001: A Space Odyssey" considered as a brilliant classic, whereas the genuine masterpiece "H-8" is totally unknown and unloved? Seriously, this is a fantastic film, with a storyline that is still very relevant and emotionally involving today even though it's more than 65 years old already. The rating is high, all the reviewers unanimously agree about the quality, so why isn't "H-8" better known? Because it's a foreign film from a region (Croatia, although back then still Yugoslavia) that isn't exactly known for its cinematic inheritance? Perhaps, but that's even more reason to seek it out!

"H-8" has a very simple and identifiable plot. In fact, it doesn't even have a real plot, as it's based on a tragic road accident between a passenger bus and a truck as it occurred in Croatia on April 14th, 1957. An accident like there sadly are several ones each year and all around the world, which cost the life of seven innocent people. The accident got caused by a reckless car whose takeover maneuver, at high speed and in the pouring rain, caused for the truck to deviate from its lane and ram the passenger bus frontally. The car, of which the license place started with H-8, didn't even bother to stop, and drove off with dimmed headlights. The movie is "dedicated" to the cowardly driver of the car.

This is one of those rare and uniquely sober productions that manages to perplex the viewer with pure realism. It's a reminder that tragedy and painful incidents happen daily, and very close to all of us. We just don't think about them too much for as long as somebody dear to ourselves isn't directly involved. "H-8" confronts us with the agonizing fact there's drama behind every casualty. The script gives the people on the bus and in the truck faces, names, backgrounds, and detailed insights in their personalities. By the time you're beginning to know them, and care for them, their lives are ended cruelly and abrupt. And you know what makes it even more harrowing? You could make a movie for almost every accident like this that happens in the world.

The most extraordinary quality of "H-8" is its narrative structure. The first 10-15 minutes stoically cover the straight facts, like a news bulletin or an article read aloud. It's obviously tragic, but you hear and read about similar accidents frequently. You overhear the number of casualties, and you see the vehicle wreckages, but it doesn't evoke many emotions. Then, the clock turns back several hours, to the boarding of the passengers for the bus to Zagreb, and the time spent together between the truck driver and his son. Throughout the rest of the film, these people become individuals rather than road accident statistics. They represent society, as there are men, women, and children. Some or returning home, others hope to escape. As the moment of the accident approaches, and it already is clear that the passengers sitting in the front of the bus are most likely to die, the script brilliant mounts the suspense there are several people switching places.

It's indescribably fantastic. Please, search for this motion picture!