''Walter Defends Sarajevo'' (; ) is a 1972

Yugoslav Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...

partisan film Partisan film ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, partizanski film, партизански филм) is the name for a subgenre of war films made in FPR/SFR Yugoslavia during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In the broadest sense, main characteristics of Partisan films ar ...

, 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 documentarie ...

and starring

Bata Živojinović Velimir "Bata" Živojinović ( sr-Cyrl, Велимир "Бата" Живојиновић; 5 June 1933 – 22 May 2016) was a Yugoslav and Serbian actor and politician. He appeared in more than 340 films and TV series, and is regarded as one of ...

Ljubiša Samardžić Ljubiša Samardžić ( sr-cyr, Љубиша Самарџић; 19 November 1936 – 8 September 2017), nicknamed Smoki, was a Serbian actor and director, best known as Šurda in the ''Vruć vetar'' TV series, and Inspector Boško Simić in the come ...

and

Rade Marković Radomir "Rade" Marković ( sr-cyr, Радомир Раде Марковић; 14 October 1921 – 10 September 2010) was a Serbian actor. He performed in more than ninety films. He was married to actress Olivera Marković from 1945 until they divo ...

. The film centres around a mysterious figure named 'Walter', who is actively disrupting the attempts of German commander

Alexander Löhr Alexander Löhr (20 May 1885 – 26 February 1947) was an Austrian Air Force commander during the 1930s and, after the annexation of Austria, he was a Luftwaffe commander. Löhr served in the Luftwaffe during World War II, rising to commander ...

to retreat from the Balkans. The film's eponymous character, Walter, is loosely based around Vladimir Perić, whose ''

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

'' was 'Valter'.

Plot

In late 1944, as the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

approaches, the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

's high command determines to pull out General

Army Group E Army Group E (''Heeresgruppe E'') was a German Army Group active during World War II. Army Group E was created on 1 January 1943 from the 12th Army. Units from this Army Group were distributed throughout the Eastern Mediterranean area, includ ...

from the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

back to Germany. They plan to supply the tank columns with fuel from a

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in Ch ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajev ...

. The

Yugoslav partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, Slovene language, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НО� ...

' leader in the city, a mysterious man known as Walter, presents a grave danger to the operation's success, and the Germans dispatch

Standartenführer __NOTOC__ ''Standartenführer'' (short: ''Staf'', , ) was a Nazi Party (NSDAP) paramilitary rank that was used in several NSDAP organizations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK. First founded as a title in 1925, in 1928 it became one of ...

von Dietrich of the SD to deal with him. As no one in the city seems to know what Walter even looks like, Dietrich manages to have an operative infiltrate the resistance under the guise of Walter himself. The partisans are caught in a deadly game of betrayal, fraud and imposture while trying to frustrate the Germans' plans.

Ending

At the end of the movie, von Dietrich muses that he has finally realised why he never managed to defeat his nemesis Walter; standing on a hill he points at Sarajevo below and remarks in German: ''Sehen Sie diese Stadt? Das ist Walter!'' ("You see that city? That's Walter!") This was intended to send a message of unity consistent with the official politics of the multi-ethnic state of Yugoslavia.

Cast

as Pilot (Walter) *

as Zis *

as Sead Kapetanović * Slobodan Dimitrijević as Suri *

Neda Spasojević Neda Spasojević (16 April 1941 – 16 July 1981) was a Serbian film, television and theater actress. She appeared in more than sixty films from 1964 until her 1981 death from cancer at age 40. Early life Neda Spasojević was born in the Yugo ...

as Mirna * Dragomir Gidra Bojanić as Kondor *

Pavle Vuisić Pavle "Paja" Vuisić ( sr-cyr, Павле "Паја" Вуисић; 10 July 1926 – 1 October 1988) was a Yugoslav actor, known as one of the most recognizable faces of former Yugoslav cinema. Biography He was born in Belgrade as Pavle Vujisić ...

as train dispatcher *

Faruk Begolli Faruk Begolli (14 February 1944 – 23 August 2007), was a prominent Kosovo Albanian actor.Historical Dictionary of Kosovo, Robert Elsie, Second Edition, Scarecrow Press Inc. 2011, He attended high school in Pristina and graduated from the Acade ...

as Branko *

Stevo Žigon Štefan "Stevo" Žigon ( sr-cyr, Стево Жигон; 8 December 1926 – 28 December 2005) was a Yugoslav actor, theatre director, and writer. Biography His origins were primarily Italian. He was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, then part of the ...

as Dr Mišković * Jovan Janićijević as Josic *

Relja Bašić Relja Bašić (14 February 1930 – 7 April 2017) was a Croatian actor. With a career that lasted more than half a century, he is considered one of the most prolific performers of that country. Biography Bašić was born on 14 February 1930 in ...

as Obersturmführer *

Hannjo Hasse Hannjo Hasse (31 August 1921 – 5 February 1983) was an East German actor. Biography Hasse began studying acting in 1938, and attended Lily Ackermann's Institute for Stage Artists' Education in Berlin. At 1941, he was drafted for the Labour Se ...

as Col. von Dietrich * Rolf Römer as SS-Hauptsturmführer Bischoff *

Fred Delmare Werner Vorndran (24 April 1922 – 1 May 2009), known professionally as Fred Delmare, was a German actor. Life and work Werner Vorndran was the son of a carpenter and a seamstress and grew up in Hüttensteinach at Sonneberg in Thuringia, wh ...

as Sgt. Edele (credited as Axel Delmare) * Herbert Köfer as German general * Wilhelm Koch-Hooge as Lieutenant Colonel Hagen *

Helmut Schreiber Helmut Schreiber (16 November 1925 – 10 February 1995) was a German actor.http://flimmerkiste.bplaced.net/h_schreiber.htm He appeared in more than ninety films from 1954 to 1988. Selected filmography References External links * 192 ...

as Lieutenant Colonel Weiland *

Emir Kusturica Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and musician. He also has French citizenship.http://www.serbia.com/emir-kusturica-artist-builder-and-anti-glo ...

as a young man

Production

Although not aiming to reflect history, the film's leading character was named after the partisan leader Vladimir Perić, known by his ''

'' 'Walter', who commanded a resistance group in Sarajevo from 1943 until his death in the battle to liberate the city on April 6, 1945.

dedicated the picture to the people of Sarajevo and their heroism during the war. The film marked the beginning of

's career in cinema. Sixteen years of age at the time, it was his first appearance on film in a small role playing a young communist activist.

Release

The film premiered in Sarajevo on Wednesday, 12 April 1972 in front of 5,000 spectators at the recently built Skenderija Hall. The venue thus hosted another lavish partisan film première, two and a half years after

Veljko Bulajić Veljko Bulajić (born 22 March 1928) is a Montenegrin film director and UNESCO Kalinga Prize recipient. He has spent the majority of his life working in Croatia and is primarily known for directing World War II-themed movies from the Partisan fil ...

's ''

Battle of Neretva Case White (german: Fall Weiss), also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive ( sh, Četvrta neprijateljska ofenziva/ofanziva), was a combined Axis strategic offensive launched against the Yugoslav Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia during W ...

'' premiered in October 1969. Marshal

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

wasn't in attendance this time, though the premiere still saw its share of Yugoslav celebrities and functionaries including the film's cast as well as the

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in ...

head coach

Miljan Miljanić Miljan Miljanić ( sr-Cyrl, Миљан Миљанић; 4 May 1930 – 13 January 2012) was a Yugoslav and Serbian football player, coach and administrator, who played as a defender. Born in Bitola, Vardar Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, to ...

, actress

Špela Rozin Špela Rozin (born 31 January 1943) is a Slovenian actress that became famous in the cinema of Yugoslavia. Her breakout role was the lead role in the film '' Strange Girl (film), Strange Girl'' that became a cult classic because of the modern por ...

, Skenderija's director and former Sarajevo mayor Ljubo Kojo, Bosna Film chairman Neđo Parežanin, etc.

Reception

''Walter Defends Sarajevo'' received a favorable response from the Yugoslav audience, especially in Sarajevo itself. The film was distributed in sixty countries, and achieved its greatest success in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...

, becoming the country's most popular foreign film in the 1970s. Owing mainly to the Chinese audience, ''Walter Defends Sarajevo'' is one of the most watched

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

s of all time.

Legacy

The theme of

brotherhood and unity Brotherhood and unity was a popular slogan of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia that was coined during the Yugoslav People's Liberation War (1941–45), and which evolved into a guiding principle of Yugoslavia's post-war inter-ethnic polic ...

within the Yugoslav population in the face of foreign occupation became a point of reference for the

New Primitives New Primitivism (Serbo-Croatian: Novi primitivizam) was a subcultural movement established in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia-Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia in March 1983. It primarily used music, along with satire, sketch and surreal comedy on radio and tele ...

' punk sub-culture.

Zabranjeno Pušenje Zabranjeno pušenje () is a Bosnian rock band formed in Sarajevo in 1980. The group's musical style primarily consists of a distinctive garage rock sound with folk influences, often featuring innovative production and complex storytelling. Current ...

, one of the movement's leading bands, named their first album ''

Das ist Walter ''Das ist Walter'' () is the debut studio album by Yugoslav band Zabranjeno Pušenje released on April 10, 1984. It was released through Jugoton in Yugoslavia. The album title is the closing line from the 1972 partisan film '' Walter Defends Sara ...

'', in honour of the film. In China, children and streets were named after characters from the film, and a beer brand called 'Walter' was marketed with Velimir Živojinović's picture on the label. It still enjoys great popularity in the country. The film also continues to remain a mainstay of diplomatic and economic relations between China and the Western Balkans, with Chinese tourists contributing significantly to local tourism industries, and the implementation of visa-free travel between

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and China. The names of numerous hospitality venues throughout the Balkans (mostly in Bosnia and Serbia) have been inspired by the film. A museum in

dedicated to the film was also opened in April 2019.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0069452, title=Valter Brani Sarajevo 1972 films Yugoslav war films Serbo-Croatian-language films 1970s German-language films Films set in the 1940s World War II films based on actual events Partisan films Films set in Sarajevo Films set in Bosnia and Herzegovina Films set in Yugoslavia Culture in Sarajevo Films directed by Hajrudin Krvavac 1972 war films Yugoslav World War II films 1972 multilingual films Yugoslav multilingual films