Three (1965 film)

Three is a 1965 Yugoslav film directed by Aleksandar Petrović. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 39th Academy Awards. The script, written by Petrović, is based on the motifs of the short story collection Fern and Fire by Antonije Isaković. The film belongs to the Yugoslav Black Wave movement.

Plot

In April 1941, the Third Reich invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The protagonist, Miloš, witnesses violent death on three separate occasions - at the beginning, during, and at the end of the Second World War. The first story takes place at a train station where, after the outbreak of the April War, mobilized members of the royal army gather and declare a photographer without identity papers and with a speech impediment a German spy and execute him. The second story shows Miloš, who joined the partisans, pursued by German soldiers. He meets a fellow partisan who, after they flee together through a swamp, sacrifices himself for him, allowing Miloš to escape. The third story takes place shortly after liberation. Miloš, now an OZNA officer, must decide whether a group of German collaborators, including a girl he is attracted to, will be shot.

Cast

Bata Živojinović as Miloš Bojanić
Slobodan Perović as accused photographer
Senka Veletanlić as girl
Voja Mirić as partisan
Dragomir Gidra Bojanić as police constable
Mića Tomić as instigator
Branislav Jerinić as commander
Nikola Kole Angelovski as recruit
Milan Jelić as recruit waiting for train
Mirjana Kodžić as woman waiting for train
Vesna Krajina as Vera
Zlatibor Stoimirov as lieutenant
Gizela Vuković as woman with headscarf
Ali Raner as young man
Stole Aranđelović
Laza Jovanović
Rajko Savelić

Themes

The theme of the film is death from the perspective of one man, in three forms: as witness of it, as a victim of it, and as an executor.

Reception

A review from the New York Times from 1967 after the film's nomination for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards reads:

Accolades

Awards

[Pula Film Festival] (1965)

Palenka award at the Acapulco Film Festival
Laceno d'oro award at the Avellino Neorealism Film Festival

Nominations

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1966
Crystal Globe for best film at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 1966

Festivals

Poretta Terme International Film Festival
New York Film Festival

Legacy

The Yugoslav Film Archive, in accordance with its authorities based on the Law on Cultural Heritage, declared one hundred Serbian feature films as cultural heritage of great importance on December 28, 2016. Three is also on that list.
Three was the first Yugoslav movie released in the United States. Aleksandar Petrović's films Three and I Even Met Happy Gypsies provided the world an introduction to Yugoslav cinema.