Love is possible even in a war zone. At least it is for a young soldier and a partisan girl, whose fleeting but poetic love story unfolds during WW2. There are four points of view, with a German officer and a local photographer as subjective narrators alongside the lovers. But the girl’s story ties everything together. Despite the tragic theme, the film conveys a dreamlike brightness and the triumph of love over the brutalities of war.

“The Girl” is the first film in a surrealistic tetralogy by one of Yugoslavia and Serbia’s most important auteur film directors Mladomir ‘Puriša’ Đorđević. Đorđević has made over 50 short and feature films and won many awards. For “The Girl”, Đorđević was awarded the Special Prize for Best Director at the Pula Film Festival, while Branko Perak received the ORWO Award.

Kati Vuks