The Ninth Circle
| Deveti krug Девети круг | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | France Štiglic |
| Written by |
Vladimir Koch France Štiglic Zora Dirnbach (story) |
| Starring |
Boris Dvornik Dušica Žegarac Beba Lončar |
| Music by | Branimir Sakač |
| Cinematography | Ivan Marinček |
| Edited by | Lida Branis |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | Yugoslavia |
The Ninth Circle (Croatian: Deveti krug / Девети круг) is a 1960 Yugoslavian film directed by France Štiglic. It is on the Croatian Ustasha concentration camp named The Ninth Circle, based on the Jasenovac concentration camp. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[1] It was also entered into the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
Plot
During World War II in Zagreb, capital of the Nazi allied state of the Independent State of Croatia, Ruth, a 17-year-old Croatian Jewish girl is good friends with Ivo, a 19-year-old Roman Catholic Croatian boy, and his family. The Croatian Ustasha regime under Poglavnik Ante Pavelic is persecuting Croatian Jews more and more, and Ruth's parents get arrested. Ivo's parents persuade him to marry Ruth and maintain a fake marriage in order to save her. Ivo is reluctant since he already has a girlfriend, Magda, and because his school friends tease him for rushing to marriage at such an early age. Ruth sees that she is causing him great pain and runs away, but Ivo brings her back. He falls in love with her. Ruth is eventually brought to a Croatian Ustasha concentration camp named The Ninth Circle, Deveti krug, modelled on the real Jasenovac camp of World War II. Ivo finds her and tries to make her escape, but the couple dies when they try to cross the electrified fence.
Critical reception
The Ninth Circle was nominated for the Golden Palm in Cannes and for an Oscar for best foreign language film.
The film was also released in the U.S., the Soviet Union, France, Argentina, and Hungary.
In 1999, a poll of Croatian film critics found it to be one of the best Croatian films ever made.[3]
Cast
- Boris Dvornik as Ivo Vojnović
- Dušica Žegarac as Ruth Alakalaj
- Beba Lončar as Magda (as Desanka Lončar)
- Dragan Milivojević as Zvonko
See also
- List of submissions to the 33rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Yugoslav submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ↑ "The 33rd Academy Awards (1961) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
- ↑ "Festival de Cannes: The Ninth Circle". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ↑ ""Tko pjeva, zlo ne misli" najbolji hrvatski film svih vremena!". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). 1999-11-28. Retrieved 2013-02-08.