''Silent Gunpowder'' () is a 1990 Yugoslav

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 ...

directed by Bato Čengić, starring Mustafa Nadarević, Branislav Lečić,

Fabijan Šovagović Fabijan Šovagović (4 January 1932 – 1 January 2001) was a Croatian film, television and theatre actor, and writer. Biography Šovagović was born in the village of Ladimirevci, in the Slavonia region of Croatia, then Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He ...

, Mira Furlan, Boro Stjepanović and Josip Pejaković.

Plot

Based on a novel by

Branko Ćopić Branko Ćopić ( sr-Cyrl, Бранко Ћопић, ; 1 January 1915 – 26 March 1984) was a Yugoslav writer. He wrote poetry, short stories, and novels, and became famous for his stories for children and young adults, often set during World War ...

and set during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the film tells the story of a Bosnian Serb village in the mountains of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and its villagers who found themselves divided along two opposing

ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

lines in the face of the Axis

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

and subsequent occupation of the country, represented by the royalist

Chetniks The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

and the communist Partisans. These two opposing sides are personified in the Partisan commander nicknamed Španac (lit. "Spaniard", played by Mustafa Nadarević) and a former Royal Army officer Miloš Radekić (played by Branislav Lečić). Španac sees Radekić as the cause of villagers' resistance to the new

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 ...

ideology, and so the main plot revolves around the conflict between them.

Cast

Awards

*At the 1990

Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival () is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held in the summer, in July or Aug ...

(the Yugoslavian version of the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

), the film won the Big Golden Arena for Best Film, as well as the awards for ''Best Actor in a Leading Role'' (Branislav Lečić), ''Best Film Score'' ( Goran Bregović), and ''Best Makeup'' (Snježana Tomljenović). *The film was also shown at the 17th Moscow International Film Festival, where both Branislav Lečić and Mustafa Nadarević won the Silver St. George Award for their performances.

References

External links

* 1990 films Films scored by Goran Bregović Films set in Bosnia and Herzegovina Films set in Yugoslavia Serbo-Croatian-language films Yugoslav war drama films Jadran Film films 1990s war drama films 1990 drama films Films directed by Bato Čengić Films set in Yugoslavia during World War II Yugoslav World War II films {{war-drama-film-stub