Witnesses (film)
Encyclopedia
Witnesses is a Croatian
drama film
directed by Vinko Brešan
. It was released in 2003.
in 1992, during the Croatian War of Independence
. The front lines, where Croatian and Serbian forces fight each other, lie near the city. Meanwhile, in the city of Karlovac, a Serbian civilian Vasić is murdered. The story follows the local police officer Barbir (Dražen Kühn), who tries to solve the murder in spite of ethnic hatred and war revolving nearby.
The film's screenplay is based on Jurica Pavičić
's 1997 novel The Alabaster Sheep (Ovce od gipsa), which was in turn inspired by a real-life case of murder of the Zec family
in Zagreb in 1991.
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Vinko Brešan
Vinko Brešan
Vinko Brešan is a Croatian film director who emerged into international renown with three critically acclaimed and award-winning films that, each in its own way, broke some of the perceived taboos of Croatian cinema in the 1990s....
. It was released in 2003.
Synopsis
The plot of the movie is centered in the city of KarlovacKarlovac
Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants .Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County...
in 1992, during the Croatian War of Independence
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
. The front lines, where Croatian and Serbian forces fight each other, lie near the city. Meanwhile, in the city of Karlovac, a Serbian civilian Vasić is murdered. The story follows the local police officer Barbir (Dražen Kühn), who tries to solve the murder in spite of ethnic hatred and war revolving nearby.
The film's screenplay is based on Jurica Pavičić
Jurica Pavičić
Jurica Pavičić is a Croatian writer, columnist and film critic.Pavičić's screenplay for Witnesses , Vinko Brešan's 2003 film, won the Golden Arena for Best Screenplay in the 2003 Pula Film Festival...
's 1997 novel The Alabaster Sheep (Ovce od gipsa), which was in turn inspired by a real-life case of murder of the Zec family
Murder of the Zec family
The murder of the Zec family occurred in Zagreb, Croatia on December 7, 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, when the squad of five Croatian militiamen with government support shot dead three members of an ethnic Serb Zec family: the father Mihajlo Zec, his wife Marija and their...
in Zagreb in 1991.
Cast
- Leon LučevLeon LučevLeon Lučev is a Croatian actor.Lučev had his feature film debut in Vinko Brešan's 1996 comedy How the War Started on My Island...
- Krešo - Alma PricaAlma PricaAlma Prica is a Croatian actress. She graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Drama Arts in 1985 and then joined the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb in 1986...
- Novinarka - Mirjana KaranovićMirjana KaranovicMirjana Karanović is a Serbian actress known for many important roles in former Yugoslav films during the past quarter of a century....
- Majka - Dražen Kühn - Barbir
- Krešimir Mikić - Joško
- Marinko Prga - Vojo
- Bojan Navojec - Barić
- Ljubomir KerekešLjubomir KerekešLjubomir Kerekeš is a Croatian theatre, television and film actor.Kerekeš began acting in 1980 in his hometown of Varaždin and between 1982 and 1996 was a member of the theatre ensemble at the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin...
- Dr. Matić - Predrag 'Predjo' Vušović - Ljubo
- Tarik FilipovićTarik FilipovicTarik Filipović is a Bosnian actor who lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia.Tarik Filipović has appeared in over 800 theatre plays with his debut being in 1985....
- Javni tužitelj - Rene BitorajacRene BitorajacRene Bitorajac is a Croatian actor. He appeared in a number of Croatian and Bosnian films since the 1980s. Most notably, he starred in the 2001 Academy Award-winning Bosnian film No Man's Land...
- Albanac - Ivo GregurevićIvo GregurevicIvo Gregurević is a Croatian actor. In more than quarter of century Gregurević usually played rural bullies and arrogant nouveau riche and became one of Croatia's best known and most dependable character actors.Gregurević graduated from the Drama Academy in Zagreb and has worked in over 90 movies...
- Otac - Vanja DrachVanja DrachVanja Drach was a Croatian theatre and film actor.His film and television credits include H-8, Lud zbunjen normalan, Gospa, Charuga, Kapelski kresovi, Nikola Tesla, Svjedoci....
- Penzioner - Helena Buljan - Susjeda