''Charuga'' (''Čaruga'') is a

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

Yugoslav film directed by

Rajko Grlić Rajko Grlić (born 2 September 1947) is a Croatian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of film theory at Ohio University and artistic director of the Motovun Film Festival in Motovun, Croatia. Biography Rajko Grlić w ...

. Based on the novel by

Ivan Kušan Ivan Kušan (30 August 1933 – 20 November 2012) was a Croatian writer. Kušan was born in Sarajevo, Kingdom of Yugoslavia to the family of Jakša Kušan, a bookstore owner. The family moved to Zagreb in 1939. At the age of ten Ivan discovered his ...

, it tells a true story about legendary

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

n bandit

Jovo Stanisavljević Čaruga Jovan "Jovo" Stanisavljević ( sr-cyr, Јовaн "Јово" Станисављевић; 1897–27 February 1925), known by his nickname ''Čaruga'' (Чаруга), was a Serbian outlaw (''hajduk'') in Slavonia in the early 20th century. Early l ...

. During its premiere, ''Charuga'' was described as "the last Yugoslav film", because its theatrical run coincided with the process of the Yugoslav break-up and escalation of conflict into the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

. Others saw film as an allegoric portrayal of the rise and fall of

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, because the film's protagonist (played by

Ivo Gregurević Ivo Gregurević (; 7 October 1952 – 1 January 2019) was a Croatian film, theatre and television actor. Throughout over a quarter of a century, Gregurević played rural bullies and arrogant nouveau riche and became one of Croatia's best known a ...

) used Communism as a pretext to get rich and enjoy luxurious lifestyle.

References

External links

* 1991 films Yugoslav adventure films Films directed by Rajko Grlić Films based on Croatian novels Films scored by Goran Bregović Croatian biographical films Croatian adventure films Yugoslav biographical films Croatian comedy films Yugoslav comedy films {{Croatia-film-stub