''Četverored'' is 1999

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n film directed by

Jakov Sedlar Jakov Sedlar (born 6 November 1952) is a Croatian film director and producer. A former cultural attaché during the 1990s in the Franjo Tuđman government, his documentaries promote Croatian nationalist views through propaganda. His 2016 docu ...

. Based on the novel of the same name by

Ivan Aralica __NOTOC__ Ivan Aralica (born 10 September 1930) is a Croatian novelist and essayist. Born in Promina near Knin, and having finished pedagogical school and Philosophical Faculty at the University of Zadar, Aralica had worked since 1953 as a high ...

, the plot of the film deals with the Yugoslav death march of Nazi collaborators. It was the first film to deal with the subject, formerly a taboo topic under the Communist government. ''Četverored'' was aired on television only a week after its theatrical release in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, in what was widely characterised as an electoral ploy to support the ruling Croatian Democratic Union, which subsequently lost the elections. ''Četverored'' was the last film role of

Ena Begović Ena Begović (8 July 1960 – 15 August 2000) was a prominent Yugoslav film actress. She is regarded as one of the best and most beautiful actresses in former Yugoslavia. Early life and career Begović was born in Trpanj to Terezija and Nikola ...

before her death in a car accident in August 2000.

Cast

The cast also includes Luka Peroš best known for his role of Marseille in Money Heist. * Ivan Marević as Ivan Telebar *

as Mirta Mešog * Goran Navojec as Baja Mešog * Nadežda Perišić-Nola as Marguerita * Zvonimir Zoričić as Zlatko Trlin *

Nada Abrus Nada may refer to: Culture * Nāda, a concept in ancient Indian metaphysics Places * Nada, Hainan, China * Nada, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Nada, Nepal, village in Achham District, Seti Zone * Nada, Texas, Unite ...

as Malvina * Boris Buzančić as Senjak * Mia Oremović as Gost *

Filip Šovagović Filip Šovagović (born 13 September 1966) is a Croatian actor, film director, comedian, playwright and journalist. At first known simply as the son of renowned actor Fabijan Šovagović, he has established himself as one of the most prolific Cr ...

as poručnik Hunjeta *

Tamara Garbajs __NOTOC__ Tamara may refer to: People * Tamara (name), including a list of people with this name * Tamara (Spanish singer) (born 1984) * Tamara, stage name of Spanish singer Yurena (born 1969) * Tamara, stage name of Macedonian singer Tamara Tod ...

as Magdalena * Zoran Čubrilo as "Crnac" na motoru * Vera Zima as nadstojnica časne službe * Dejan Aćimović as Šaban *

Hrvoje Klobučar Hrvoje is a Croatian male ethnic first name derived from "Hrvat" meaning "Croat". Notable people with the name include: * Hrvoje Čale (born 1985), Croatian football back * Hrvoje Horvat (born 1946), Croatian handball back * Hrvoje Klasić (b ...

as tupi domobran *

Ante Čedo Martinić Ante Čedo Martinić (27 January 1960 – 27 December 2011) was a Croatian actor. Filmography Television roles * ''Ruža vjetrova'' as Anić (2011) * ''Loza'' as Bilić (2011) * ''Bitange i princeze'' (2010) * '' Ponos Ratkajevih'' as Ante ...

as Ante Moškov

Critical reception

The Croatian Cinema Database website's entry for the movie gives the film a largely negative review, noting that screenwriter Ivan Aralica and director Jakov Sedlar "turned the film into an expression of caricatured intolerance towards (Serbian and Montenegrin) partisans" and that its "hate speech and utter nonsense" overshadows any potential it has. Historian Jelena Batinić writes that, despite the film's high production value and prominent Croatian actors, it "rarely rises above the level of a propaganda pamphlet with crude ethnic stereotyping" as the mostly

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

Partisans are portrayed as vicious murderers and Croat prisoners as innocent victims. Professor Dijana Jelača of Brooklyn College lists ''Četverored'' as among the post-Yugoslav nationalist revisionist films which use events of the past, reconstructing them in order to "warn generations to come" of the never-ending threats to nationhood. In this case, communism is presented as being on equal footing, if not worse, than fascism. Film scholar Dino Murtic describes the film as "perhaps the most inglorious example of the cinema of self-victimisation" made during the 1990s as Yugoslavia had disintegrated.

References

External links

* 1999 films World War II films 1990s war drama films Films directed by Jakov Sedlar Films based on Croatian novels Croatian war drama films 1999 drama films Films set in 1945 {{war-drama-film-stub