Director: Živojin Pavlović
Country: Yugoslavia
Award: none
Movement: Yugoslav Black Wave
The Ambush is a 1969 Yugoslav black-and-white feature film written and directed by Živojin Pavlović. It is considered to be one of the greatest achievements of the Yugoslav Black Wave. The screenplay is based on the motifs of Pavlović's short story Legends and Antonije Isaković's short story For the Third Time. The story takes place in 1945, near the end of the Second World War in Serbia, at a time when the newly formed communist government still had to deal with backward groups of Chetniks. The protagonist, Ive Vrana, is a young Dalmatian and member of SKOJ who believes in revolution and a higher goal. Ive's father was killed by Italian soldiers, causing him to move in with his relatives in Serbia to continue his high school education. He first encounters an obstacle when his girlfriend, Milica, is singled out as a bourgeoisie class traitor due to her upbringing. He also witnesses the drunk and reckless behaviour of partisan leader Zeka. Tensions increase as the local partisans fight and attempt to capture Marko, a Chetnik leader. Ive's idealism increasingly clashes with reality and the fact that his own side is also carrying out reckless and violent repression. He joins the ranks of OZNA, but finds himself even more disillusioned by an opportunistic officer's lies and the violence around him, as well as relationships, as Milica cheats on him with her PE teacher. Frustrated, Ive goes on a walk outside the village, but is captured by partisans who mistake him for a Chetnik and kill him when he is unable to provide documentation.
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