Partisan film ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, partizanski film, партизански филм, separator=" / ") is the name for a subgenre of

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

s made in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In the broadest sense, main characteristics of Partisan films are that they are set in Yugoslavia during World War II and have

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

as protagonists, while the antagonists are

Axis forces The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

and their collaborators. According to Croatian film historian

Ivo Škrabalo Ivo Škrabalo (; 19 February 1934 – 18 September 2011) was a Croatian film critic, screenwriter, and member of parliament. Škrabalo was born in Sombor, where he finished elementary and high school before moving to Zagreb in 1952. He enrolled at ...

, Partisan film is "one of the most authentic genres that emerged from the Yugoslav cinema".

Definition and style

Many film critics disagree about the exact definition of the genre. Partisan films are often equated solely with the populist, entertainment-oriented branch of the genre, characterized by epic scope,

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

s, expensive production, and emotionally intense scenes, largely introduced into Yugoslav war films by Veljko Bulajić's '' Kozara'' (1962). The other branchwhich held less appeal to the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

establishmentwas represented by

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

films, ranging from the poetic naturalism of the

Yugoslav Black Wave Yugoslav Black Wave (also referred to as Black Wave; or sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=none, separator=" / ", Crni talas, Црни талас) is a blanket term for a Yugoslav film and broader cultural movement starting from the early 1960s and ending in ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

stream-of-consciousness films. In his analysis of

Fadil Hadžić Fadil Hadžić (23 April 1922 – 3 January 2011) was a Croatian and Yugoslav film director, screenwriter, playwright and journalist, mainly known for his comedy films and plays. He was born in Bileća in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but mainly ...

's ''The Raid on Drvar'' (1963), Croatian film critic

Jurica Pavičić Jurica Pavičić (born 2 November 1965 in Split) is a writer, columnist and film critic. Pavičić's screenplay for ''Witnesses'' (''Svjedoci''), Vinko Brešan's 2003 film, won the Golden Arena for Best Screenplay in the 2003 Pula Film Festiv ...

identifies seven key characteristics of what he calls "super-Partisan films": * Focus on crucial, well-known, "textbook" examples of Partisan struggle, such as major battles and operations, which are then given an officially sanctioned interpretation. * Absence of authentic, high-profile figures of Partisan struggle, with the exception of

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

. In Pavičić's view, the rationale for this was to avoid threatening Tito's

cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...

. * Mosaic structure in which sometimes dozens of characters take part, and their fate is followed throughout the film. These characters represent different classes or walks of life (intellectuals, peasants), or different ethnicities. * Mixing of the comic with the tragic. * The presence of foreign (non-Yugoslav) characters as arbiters. Their role is to witness and verify the martyrdom and heroism of Yugoslav peoples as Partisan films depict them, sending a symbolical message ("There it is, the world acknowledges us as we are"). * The characteristic treatment of the Germans: although they are portrayed as villains, and are demonized in various ways, they are also shown to be superior in power and discipline, and are depicted as an efficient, sophisticated, even glamorous adversary. * ''

Deus ex machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( ; ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; 'God from the machine') is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function is general ...

'' endings, in which the Partisans break out of seemingly hopeless situations. Pavičić's analysis was criticized for not being universally applicable to Partisan films, and a number of notable exceptions to the above formula exist. By the 1980s, economic hardship in the country, as well as change in the ideological landscape, particularly with the younger Yugoslav generation, caused a waning of interest in the genre, and the critical and commercial failure of Bulajić's '' Great Transport'' (1983) is usually seen as a symbolic end of the Partisan film era.

Notable films

*'' The Last Bridge'' (1954, directed by

Helmut Käutner Helmut Käutner (25 March 1908 – 20 April 1980) was a German film director active mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. He entered the film industry at the end of the Weimar Republic and released his first films as a director in Nazi Germany. Käu ...

) *'' Kozara'' (1962, directed by Veljko Bulajić) *''The Raid on Drvar'' (1963, directed by

) *'' Nikoletina Bursać'' (1964, directed by Branko Bauer) *'' The Secret Invasion'' (1964, directed by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

) *'' Eagles Fly Early'' (1966, directed by Soja Jovanović) *'' The Demolition Squad'' (1967, directed by

Hajrudin Krvavac Hajrudin "Šiba" Krvavac (22 December 1926 – 11 July 1992) was a Bosnian film director most notable for directing movies from the Partisan film genre during 1960s and 70s. His gift for precise storytelling was visible in his early documentaries ...

) *''Operation Belgrade'' (1968, directed by Žika Mitrović) *'' Bomb at 10:10'' (1967, directed by Časlav Damjanović) *''

Battle of Neretva Case White (), also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive (), was a combined Axis strategic offensive launched against the Yugoslav Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. It was one of the most significant confrontations o ...

'' (1969, directed by Veljko Bulajić, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the

42nd Academy Awards The 42nd Academy Awards were presented April 7, 1970, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. For the second year in a row, there was no official host. This was the first Academy Awards ceremony to be broadcast via satelli ...

) *'' The Bridge'' (1969, directed by

) *''

When You Hear the Bells ''When You Hear the Bells'' () is a 1969 Croatian war film directed by Antun Vrdoljak. It was entered into the 6th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Silver Prize. In 1999, a poll of Croatian film critics found it to be one of the ...

'' (1969, directed by

Antun Vrdoljak Antun Vrdoljak (; born 5 June 1931) is a Croatian film actor and director, sports official, and head of Croatian Radiotelevision during the Yugoslav Wars. Between the 1960s and early 1990s he was mainly a film artist. In the early 1990s he became ...

) *''

The Pine Tree in the Mountain ''The Pine Tree in the Mountain'' (''U gori raste zelen bor'') is a Croatian film directed by Antun Vrdoljak. Set during World War II the film follows the exploits of a detachment of partisans, concentrating on the personal and professional relat ...

'' (1971, directed by Antun Vrdoljak) *''

Walter Defends Sarajevo ''Walter Defends Sarajevo'' (; ) is a 1972 Yugoslav partisan film, directed by Hajrudin Krvavac and starring Bata Živojinović, Ljubiša Samardžić and Rade Marković. The film centres around a mysterious figure named 'Walter', who is activ ...

'' (1972, directed by

) *''

Battle of Sutjeska Case Black (), also known as the Fifth Enemy Offensive ( sh-Latn, Peta neprijateljska ofanziva) in Yugoslav historiography and often identified with its final phase, the Battle of the Sutjeska ( sh-Latn, Bitka na Sutjesci ) was a joint attack ...

'' (1973, directed by Stipe Delić) *''Bombaši'' (1973, directed by Predrag Golubović) *'' Guns of War'' (1974, directed by Žika Mitrović) *'' Hell River'' (1974, directed by

Stole Janković Stole Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Столе Јанковић, 6 April 1925 – 19 April 1987) was a Serbian film director and screenwriter. In a career spanning more than two decades between the late 1950s and early 1980s Janković is mainly known f ...

) *''Crveni udar'' (1974, directed by Predrag Golubović) *'' Doktor Mladen'' (1975, directed by Midhat Mutapdžić) *'' The Peaks of Zelengora'' (1976, directed by Zdravko Velimirović) *''Maiden Bridge'' (1976, directed by Miomir Stamenković) *''Battle for South Railway'' (1978, directed by Zdravko Velimirović) *'' Force 10 from Navarone'' (1978, directed by

Guy Hamilton Mervyn Ian Guy Hamilton (16 September 1922 – 20 April 2016) was an English film director. He directed 22 films from the 1950s to the 1980s, including four James Bond films. Early life Hamilton was born in Paris on 16 September 1922, son of ...

) *''Boško Buha'' (1978, directed by Branko Bauer) *''The Partisan Squadron'' or ''Battle of Eagles'' (1979, directed by Hajrudin Krvavac) *''13th of July'' (1982, directed by Radomir Saranović) *'' Great Transport'' (1983, directed by Veljko Bulajić) *''The Igman March'' (1983, directed by

Zdravko Šotra Zdravko Šotra ( sr-cyr, Здравко Шотра; born 13 February 1933) is a Serbian film and television director and screenwriter. He is known for directing the films '' Zona Zamfirova'', '' Boj na Kosovu'', '' Šešir profesora Vujića'', ...

) 'Force 10 from Navaone': A Slack and Dull Mission - The Washington Post
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Notable television series

* '' Otpisani''

References

Sources

Jugoslavenski špageti-vesterni: propaganda i nostalgija

Partizanski film je naša kulturna baština

Partizanski film i strip...ili priča o sađenju limuna u Sibiru
* * * *

Definition and style

Notable films

Notable television series

References

Sources

Further reading

See also