After the war, a Yugoslav army captain, Vladimir, is in charge of suppressing armed supporters of the former king's regime, led by major Momir. After Vladimir's best friend is killed, he joins the rebels pretending to be one of the king's supporters. However, one of Momir's supporters, a man who harbors rebels, has an attractive daughter who is engaged to marry Momir. She knows that Vladimir is an officer of the Yugoslav army, because she has seen him wearing a Yugoslav uniform. Vladimir fears that she might betray him.
Acting
Bulajić's nervous intensity — you feel the uniform itching.
Direction
Relja wrings suspense from glances and doorways.
Director
Mate Relja
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during Yugoslavia's Tito era, the film had to navigate depicting royalist Chetniks sympathetically while ultimately affirming communist victory — a tightrope that explains the ambiguous politics.
Mate Relja was primarily a documentarian; this rare fiction feature shows in the almost newsreel-like attention to uniforms and military procedure.
YU
