THE HOLOCAUST OF DARA IN JASENOVAC

Film shows a time period of Serbian struggle during The Holocaust.

Serbians, Jews and Romas were perishing in concentration camps in Jasenovac during the Holocaust. Director Predrag Peter Antonijević’s cinematic take during the fascist Ustase government shocks the spirit of us all. Biljana Čekić plays 10-year old Dara Illic who struggles with her family to survive. Dara must find her way to freedom against the trigger happy Croatians.

Zlatan Vidovic plays Dara’s father Mile who is at another camp far away across a river. He works to bury the dead while questioning if his family is still alive.

The horror of experiencing atrocities on Serbians forces Dara to grow up quickly. She uses her instincts to survive while protecting her infant brother Budo.

Submission of this film was sent to the Oscars for Best International Feature. Biljana Čekić carries the film to incredible heights with her courage and resilience. Nikolina Jelisavac plays her aunt, Mileva, who shows the struggle of being Serbian. Igor Đorđević plays Ante Vrban, who leads the Croatian regime to kill at will. The bullish demeanour of Ante kills Serbs like they are game when they play a do or die “musical chairs”.

The audience experiences grief, desperation and frustration from the cast who plays the Serbian community. Which pits against comic-like villainous characters of the Croatians. The mood of the film shows you a constant war where Serbians are freedom seeking while Croatians are freedom taking.

Jay Weissberg of Variety had this to say about the film: “Serbia’s Oscar submission is thinly disguised propaganda, cynically using the Holocaust to push a troubling nativist agenda.”

He mentions the brutal violence against a backdrop of childhood innocence gives it shocking value. It’s “Holocaust marketing” as it shades away from the dangers of nationalism, racism and genocide. There is the truth behind these brutal acts of violence on the part of Croatians that still hold them accountable.

The Croatians in Dara in Jasenovac are comedic at times. They once had power and they were irresponsible with it. Having that much power makes people go crazy and do horrible things. It happens in front of children who are starving and sick. The audience empathizes with the Serbians and their hostility toward their neighbours.

The critical aspect of the film is that these atrocities did happen despite critics having issues with the screenplay influenced by people with testimonials. The film helps remember this period in hopes to refrain from reliving it in the future. We will add this to the piece of the puzzle of how many people suffered during WWII. The epicentre of the Holocaust was horrific. The tsunami of violence that followed around it was just as brutal.