Set in an impoverished Croatian village between 1926 and 1945. The constant deprivation, repeated changes to the regime, and war pervaded the forests and shrouded the place in a miasma that obscured all visions of a better future. Village life was also tough for Mijo, former member of the Ustaše militia: His young, innocent soul was burdened by the outside world and troubled by inhumane orders. He later fell prey to the false sheen of right-wing ideology, which seems to have tainted everything beautiful and innocent about his past, including memories of Drenka, his childhood sweetheart.
“This is not merely a Balkan story; there is an ideological matrix at work in its very centre, the variants of which we can see around the world, working their way through various socio-political systems, in the past as well as in the present. Sadly, the humanity doesn’t seem to have progressed much in the past century.” (Bruno Anković)