'SOLDIER'S LULLABY'
HAUNTING WORLD WAR I EPIC
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| The movie premiered this week in Serbia |
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| Marko Vasiljevic plays the lead role |
IN SOLDIER'S LULLABY
Stevan Jakovljevic (ground breaking role from young Marko Vasiljevic), a biology teacher and World War I veteran who fought for the Serbian army, arrives to the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the end of the war and the opening of an ossuary in the village where he used to be stationed with his first company, the Fifth Artillery Battery. Back then, Stevan had to take sudden leave of absence and was then reassigned to another unit, and one of
the reasons he came to the opening of the ossuary is to find
out what had happened to his fellow soldiers, especially to his
immediate superior, Second Lieutenant Aleksandar (Vuk Jovanovic). There
he encounters only the aged Commander (Ljubomir Bandovic), and through
their flashbacks we see the fate of the Fifth Battery which was
disbanded in that very village, we see some difficult but also some
joyous moments, as well as the relationship between Stevan and
Aleksandar which evolves from initial hostility to friendship. What
Stevan learns from the Commander will change everything - Aleksandar
knowingly sacrificed himself...
Stevan Jakovljevic (ground breaking role from young Marko Vasiljevic), a biology teacher and World War I veteran who fought for the Serbian army, arrives to the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the end of the war and the opening of an ossuary in the village where he used to be stationed with his first company, the Fifth Artillery Battery. Back then, Stevan had to take sudden leave of absence and was then reassigned to another unit, and one of
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| Vuk Jovanovic plays the role of Aleksandar |
GENTIAN FOR FALLEN SOLDIERS
Gentian (or zaspanka in Serbian) from the Serbian movie title is the name for a robust little wild flower which animals do not eat but according to legends it
grows on the graves of soldiers. It also grows on Kaymakchalan which was the place of the massive WW1 battle in September 1916 in which Serbia, fighting against Bulgarians on the side of Allied Forces, lost shocking 10,000 soldiers but won in the end. The skulls of the dead Serbian heroes are still kept in a church on the top of the Kaymakchalan mountain. Check out the trailer below with the heartbreaking and deeply haunting song The Longest Night composed especially for the film and sung by Serbian r'n'b star Aleksandra Kovac. Click on the link which opens up when you play the trailer to see it on YouTube!
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| Ljubomir Bandovic takes the role of the Commander |
Great pictures and song, hinting at a great movie!
ReplyDelete(I had to watch the trailer on youtube ; it was not availabe on your site).
Considering the WW1 background - the soldiers, and the song in the trailer create the anticipation for a very powerful and moving film.
I've just noticed that it has been disabled for viewing outside YouTube too! Hope everybody interested will click on the link and see it there like you did!
DeleteSounds atmospheric and interesting...
ReplyDeleteI knew you'd appreciate it, Phillie!
DeleteJust watched the trailer on YouTube. It seemed like a very emotional clip especially with the accompanying song.
ReplyDeletethat is the sadness that is the essence of all our traditional songs and music. It is in fact, the core of our national being, I'd say. That is how it always is among Slavic people.
DeleteUnderstandable. Your people have been through so much. It's heartbreaking how much pain, suffering, and loss the nation has felt over the years :(
Deletetrue, and we're currently going through one of the darkest eras my country has even seen, methinks, it's all desolation and despair.
DeleteZaspanka is flower not lullaby, that's bad translation!
ReplyDeleteThe main character is prof. biology Stevan Jakovljevic is actually a real guy and his sister was also very famous writer (i think 5 books of her are now tv shows)...
Actually a flower from grave, not type of flower i want to edit...
Deletethat is what we wrote in the post, read it in the part about gentian. The title itself Soldier's Lullaby is producer's official title for international markets. We also mentioned in the post that Jakovljevic is the writer of the books the film is based on.
Delete