| The Fall of Italy | |
| Native Name: | Pad Italije |
| Director: | Lordan Zafranović |
| Starring: | Daniel Olbrychski Ena Begović Frano Lasić Snežana Savić Antun Nalis Gorica Popović Mirjana Karanović Miodrag Krivokapić Dragan Maksimović |
| Music: | Alfi Kabiljo |
| Cinematography: | Božidar Nikolić |
| Editing: | Josip Remenar |
| Studio: | Jadran Film Centar Film |
| Runtime: | 114 minutes |
| Country: | Yugoslavia |
| Language: | Serbo-Croatian |
The Fall of Italy is a 1981 Yugoslav war film by Croatian director Lordan Zafranović.[1]
It won the Big Golden Arena for Best Film at the 1981 Pula Film Festival.[2]
On a Dalmatian island, the partisan commander Davorin (Daniel Olbrychski) liquidates, according to the party's understanding, an immoral friend and comrade Nika (Frano Lasić) and his lover, Krasna (Snežana Savić), an Italian collaborator. Davorin later marries the beautiful Veronika (Ena Begović), the daughter of a rich local. Owing to Davorin's negligence, the Nazis, Ustashe and Chetniks arrive on the island after Italy capitulates.[3]
The fall of Italy causes armies to mobilise, leads to panic, skirmishes, cruelty and incentifies revenge. The island suffers from said panic and destruction. The commander of a partisan unit, a man dedicated to the cause, falls in love with a girl whose father is a landowner and traitor. From that moment on, he finds it harder to choose between love and freedom, and his resolve becomes weaker. His younger brother, who grew up during the revolution, judges his irresponsible behaviour. This story is followed by a mosaic of other characters and their fates.[4]
The Yugoslav Film Archive, in accordance with its authorities based on the Law on Cultural Heritage, declared one hundred Serbian feature films (1911–1999) as cultural heritage of great importance on December 28, 2016. The Fall of Italy is also on that list.[6]