"To fellow men 21st November 1991" "A film by Siniša Kovaèeviæ" "Cast:" "Petar Kralj" "Miodrag Krivokapiæ" "Ljiljana Blagojeviæ" "Vuk Kostiæ" "Kalina Kovaèeviæ" "Branislav Tomaševiæ" "Introducing:" "Nenad Marièiæ" "Nikola Rakoèeviæ" "THE SONS OF MY BROTHERS" "Associate producer:" "Vladimir Vasiljeviæ" "Costume designer:" "Marina Vukasoviæ Medenica" "Art director:" "Aljoša Spasiæ" "Damn fairies" "Film editor:" "Anðela Iliæ" "Cinematographer:" "Radoslav Vladiæ" "Original music by:" "Bora Dugiæ" "Producers:" "Ljiljana Blagojeviæ Siniša Kovaèeviæ" "Written and directed by:" "Siniša Kovaèeviæ" "Hey, boys!" "Do you know Milan Sreækoviæ-- from Veliko Krèmare?" "He's here with the lot from Kragujevac." "I've got his picture." "Here you go." "Is there a damn officer round here somewhere?" "Some commanding officer?" "Who's in charge here?" "Where can a man get some answers round here?" "What the hell is this place?" "!" "The local beauty parlour?" "Sitting there like pregnant cows?" "On your feet!" "Are you soldiers or the bloody firemen's choir." "Fall in!" "Lieutenant, have them fall in." "I want a full inspection this second!" "A full inspection!" "I'm sorry, but" "What the hell are you apologising for?" "You're here to give orders not to apologise!" "All you ever do is apologise." "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" "Can't you do anything else than say you're sorry?" "How d'you expect me to give orders!" "Who the hell are you?" "!" "What are you doing here?" "Answer the question!" "I'm looking for my son." "Where are you from?" "Veliko Krèmare." "Is there anyone in charge here who can help me?" "To find my son." "How did you end up here?" "With Laza the postman to Kragujevac, then from Kragujevac to Belgrade by train, then by bus to Šid and from there I walked to here." "It's been a long trek." "I can't feel my legs." "Where are the commanding officers?" "I want to know from where you've come from!" "From far over there." "But how did you get past the guards?" "How should I know?" "I didn't hear or see anybody." "That fucking rabble!" "I won't stand for it anymore  as long as my name's Vukašin Katunac!" "I'll have someone court-martialled for this!" "I won't put up with this, you slovenly, contemptible riffraff." "And you call yourselves bloody soldiers!" "Ah, so you're an officer?" "No!" "I'm a bloody nun." "Who wants to know?" "Sreækoviæ." "My son's here somewhere." "Milanko Sreækoviæ." "Milan." "With the boys from Kragujevac." "I've got his picture and APO." "And no-one stopped you on the way?" "Nope." "Well, old boy..." "You're one lucky guy." "They shoot on sight here." "OFF." "D'you know what that means?" "'Course I do..." "And you came from over there?" "That's right." "I saw the fires so I headed towards them." "I thought "God willing, that's our lot"." "And when I heard the music" "But did you come across any soldiers on the way?" "Any soldiers?" "!" "There are soldiers all over the place." "That's not what I mean." "When you were approaching from this side?" "This side, nah" "The Guard's Battalion." "Eh?" "All of them built to perfection." "1 metre 86 tall to a man." "Each of them perfect." "Archangels." "Each with shoulders this wide." "Titans." "Eh?" "Nope." "Falcons." "One metre 86 to a man--The Guard's Battalion." "You know what the Guards have to be like." "I know." "You must have come across them..." "Nah, I didn't" "Well, where the hell are they?" "Where's my army?" "Where are my kids?" "I've got to find them." "I won't be able to look people in the eye." "Where's my army?" "Do you know what kind of kids they are, eh?" "Are you sure?" "I'm certain." "But tell me, lieutenant sir  where are the commanding officers round here?" "Major." "I'm not a lieutenant." "I'm a Major." "How should I know where the commanding officers are?" "It's bloody bedlam here." "I've lost my battalion!" "And I have lost my kid!" "Listen up, Major." "Someone will have to answer for this." "For this confusion and chaos." "It'll be in all the newspapers!" "Where's my kid?" "Find my kid this instant, d'you hear!" "?" "Milan Sreækoviæ?" "That's right." "He's with the lot from Kragujevac." "Is he alive?" "He's alive." "If there's something up, tell me." "It's been two months without a word." "His mother's worried sick" "It can't be, Major sir." "He's an only child." "He's alive, isn't he?" "I think he's here." "His name rings a bell." "Hold on" "How do you do?" "How do you do?" "Are you looking for Milan Sreækoviæ, old man?" "Yeah." "That's me." "You're not the one I'm after." "I'm looking for Milan Sreækoviæ from Veliko Krèmare." "Well, I'm Milan Sreækoviæ from Veliko Krèmare." "You're not from Veliko Krèmare." "If you were, I'd know you." "We all know each other in the village." "I am, old man, honest." "I'm Milan Sreækoviæ " " Obrad's son." "Timok division, regiment, battalion, company,   attached platoon " "Listen, sonny, I am Sreækoviæ!" "You're messing with the wrong man!" "D'you want me to report you?" "Hello--Are you looking for Milan Sreækoviæ, old man?" "Yes." "What d'you want?" "I've come to visit him." "I'm his father." "Then you're not after me." "No." "I'm after Milan Sreækoviæ." "Veliko Krèmare." "Near Kragujevac." "I'm Milan Sreækoviæ, from Veliko Krèmare." "This isn't very fair of you, boys--It's not fair." "What are you on about, old man?" "You wanted Milan Sreækoviæ;" "and I am Milan Sreækoviæ from Veliko Krèmare." "Well, Veliko Krèmare is hardly Paris." "Three hundred damned houses and we all know each other." "We know who eats what and when everyone goes to bed." "I know every bloody sheep in the village" "This is no time to screw about, boys." "Stop messing around!" "You can each have some tobacco." "And then get out of my sight." "I came here to find my kid." "I don't know why you came." "I was told that someone was looking for Milan Sreækoviæ  from Veliko Krèmare and I came to report." "That really is my name and I am from Veliko Krèmare." "And as for your tobacco, comrade, well, I don't need it." "Mate--I'm from Veliko Krèmare, too." "Milan." "Who's your father, mate?" "Who's my father?" "!" "How dare you?" "!" "I'm old enough to be your father." "And you dare to ask me who my father is, you urchin!" "Me?" "How dare you!" "And you say you're from Veliko Krèmare!" "Three houses of Sreækoviæes in the whole village." "And we're all related." "You call yourselves Sreækoviæes." "I'm not the bloody postman who you can con into giving you  some damned parcel." "I'm looking for my son." "Is that what your officers taught you?" "Instead of helping your friend's father,   you've come on the scrounge " "How dare you insult me!" "No-one's trying to trick you." "Us Sreækoviæes are not just nobodies " "There's been some misunderstanding here." "When were you born?" "Why?" "I'm just asking." "Keep your shirt on!" "Why wouldn't I?" "'27." "Well, there you have it." "That's why I don't know you." "You're much younger than me, old man." "Fuck you, you insolent, snivelling runt!" "How dare you mess with Obrad!" "Why me, you bastards?" "I don't know if my kid's alive and you're fucking me around" "Fuck you!" "Step back!" "Step back when I tell you!" "What the hell's going on here?" "That's enough, old man." "You had to screw with me of all folk!" "Piss off, you bastards!" "Dad" "Milanko, my boy" "Thank God!" "Praise the Lord!" "Thank you, Archangel Michael!" "You're alive-- That's all that matters." "Your mother kept going on and on" "She's been having nightmares." "Obrad, our boy's been killed." "Go and find him, whatever it takes." "She kept seeing you with rosemary, at the altar,   but without a bride." "Her and her bloody dreams!" "Look at you." "Like a falcon!" "Thank you, Major sir!" "There's no need, my friend." "Could I ask you for a favour?" "Today's our Saint's Day." "Saint Michael." "Will you let him spend the night in Šid" "So we can celebrate." "Can you sign his release?" "It's his Saint's Day, it's only fair." "What d'you say, Major sir?" "!" "It'll be his first visit." "I've come such a long way-- It is our Saint's Day." "What d'you say, Major sir?" "Well, old man, Happy Saint's Day." "I wish you all the best." "You, too, soldier." "I celebrate Saint Michael's Day, too." "I'm sure the war can manage for one day without my son, Major." "His mother has sent him some cake and wheat." "And candles and everything-- Come on, Major, have a heart." "There's no point, my friend." "Nobody leaves this place." "Nobody goes anywhere." "Okay, fall out, soldiers!" "What kind of a man are you, for God's sake?" "!" "It's not his fault." "He can't do anything about it." "Like hell he can't!" "He's a Major, not a Corporal." "That's not a high rank here, dad." "How's everyone back home, dad?" "Fine." "Your mother's always crying, just like all mothers." "Your sisters are always crying, just like all sisters." "Everything's fine." "Now I know you're okay." "This is as good as it gets." "They can't wait for you to get home." "Mila's written to you." "She's sent you some socks." "She never takes the ring off." "When she takes the milk to the store, she waves like this" "So everyone can see that she's spoken for." "She can't wait for you to get home." "She calls your mother "mother"." "Dad, there's something I have to tell you" "Why won't that rat let you out?" "You could have phoned your mother." "Dad, listen carefully." "I won't be coming home." "You don't go home or make phone calls from this place." "That's enough of that!" "Don't tempt fate!" "It's over, dad." "What's over?" "I won't hear such nonsense." "When you get back to Krèmare, we'll put the red carpet out!" "We'll have a wedding, I'll get a brass band from Duboka." "Everyone will eat and drink until they're sick." "I'm expecting a hundred grandchildren, for God's sake!" "It's over?" "!" "Of course, it's not over." "Dad--The dead don't get married." "What twaddle!" "Are you a Sreækoviæ or aren't you?" "I was a Sreækoviæ, dad" "Don't talk like that!" "I'm dead, Obrad." "Dead as a dodo." "What the hell's wrong with you all today?" "What's got into you all?" "We're all dead here, dad." "You're drunk." "Blow." "You are, you're drunk." "Warm beer--What's up with you all, for God's sake?" "This will end, too." "In a month or two you'll all be back home." "It's not easy, but it will end." "Nothing lasts forever." "Nor do we, dad-- Don't you get it?" "Are you blind?" "!" "We're dead, dad, dead." "Look around!" "What uniform's he wearing?" "Don't you see it's the uniform of the Kingdom of Serbia?" "There are hundreds of different bloody uniforms" "The National Guard, the Yugoslav People's Army." "These volunteers, those volunteers." "The eagles, the falcons, this Guard, that Guard" "What do I know?" "Look at his damn rifle, dad." "A 'kokinka'." "Exactly, dad!" "You don't even find them in museums any more." "Look at this Partisan." "Look at him." "What on earth is this?" "Stop it, boys, please!" "Stop it!" "What is this?" "For pity's sake!" "I must be dreaming" "No, this is no dream." "Oh God" "What's going on here, Milan?" "For God's sake!" "Dad" "This can't be happening!" "Hey, guys!" "Is there a doctor round here?" "Doctor--Hey-- Doctor!" "You're joking, right, kids?" "It's no joke, old man." "It's no joke." "Ah!" "I've just realised who you are." "Brother?" "Now I see who you are" "Is that you, brother?" "D'you see now, dad?" "You can't even remember your only brother, eh?" "!" "Shame on you, Obrad!" "You've changed, I haven't." "I couldn't be expected to recognise you." "But you have no excuse." "The dead don't grow old." "And me?" "Who am I?" "You're my uncle." "And you, old man?" "Who are you?" "I'm Božidar's son." "Your nephew." "Hold on!" "Something doesn't add up here." "Wait!" "Everything adds up, dad." "For Christ's sake!" "Wait!" "What are you all doing here, for crying out loud?" "All the soldiers killed in these parts gather here." "Those who haven't been buried back home." "Whose grave is empty back home" "So how come you're here then?" "We buried you in Krèmare." "On 17th December 1944." "I remember it as if it were yesterday." "We dropped like flies on the Srem front." "You boxed the wrong man, brother." "Don't you see?" "See what, for Christ's sake?" "Loads of us died, brother." "The Krauts annihilated us on these plains." "They sent the wrong body to Krèmare." "What do you mean - the wrong body?" "So we mourned someone else's child." "Our mother died on your grave!" "Grieving for someone else's child." "Oh God!" "Come on, stop whining." "It happens." "In some other village, they also mourned the wrong man." "His mum cried for someone else's child, too." "Don't you see?" "What is there to see?" "Hang on!" "Aha!" "You bloody hoodlums!" "You nearly tricked me!" "You idiots!" "You had me going for a while then!" "Dead, eh?" "Dead" "That's right, nephew, dead." "So how come I'm here then?" "I'm dreaming." "That's it!" "You're dead, too, dad." "What?" "A sniper got you at Jankovci, straight through the heart." "You didn't even have time to blink." "And the wound?" "Where's the wound?" "The wounds stay down there." "None of us have wounds." "Except the ones in the back." "You bring those with you." "They hurt up here, too." "Scat, you fucking snake!" "Piss off!" "Get lost, you mongrel!" "Now that shit has a wound in his back." "He has!" "Beat it!" "Why do they hurt here, too?" "Because they're a mark of shame." "They're either from running away or from one of your own." "So I really am." "Yes, dad." "Are you sure?" "Sure." "Thank God that something nice has happened on this holy day." "About face!" "About face!" "Vukašin--My boy" "Look at Spasenija." "Why?" "Heartless." "No tears." "Open it, brother-in-law." "Don't, mother!" "Just to see him one last time." "Leave it, sister-in-law." "So we can say goodbye." "Please, don't!" "He may be disfigured." "They might have mutilated him." "I'll cope." "It'd be better not to remember him like that." "Please don't, mother." "Let him say his farewells to his house." "To these people." "I've known her since she was born." "She's never shed a single tear." "Neither when her father was buried--nor her brother." "Our beloved Vukašin" "Bloody" "She'd find it easier if she cried." "Much easier." "She's not that type." "I have to see him." "Please don't!" "For mother's sake." "And Nada's." "He's not in there." "He's not in the coffin." "The shame of it!" "Burying him without a tear." "Death, unfortunately, does not pick and choose." "It takes whatever it can get." "Without caring about rank, age or human qualities" "What did you say?" "He's not inside, uncle." "How do you know?" "I just do." "The girl's just like her mother, too." "Not a single tear." "She's not." "She takes after her father." "She's got Spasenija's looks, but her father's personality." "No, she hasn't." "She's her dad all over." "I taught her at junior school." "She may be strange,   but she's nobody's fool and she's prescient." "Open it, for God's sake!" "For Saint Michael's sake!" "Imagine!" "No tears for a father and husband." "Tut-tut" "And in front of so many people, too." "And if human qualities were a criterion, you Vukašin,   would be the last on the list of those to die." "Open it" "Please, dad" "Just one last time." "Mother, please." "He's not there." "Don't, granddad!" "How I'd grieve for him if he were mine" "Don't!" "Don't!" "I told you not to." "I'm telling you!" "Don't!" "You'll be breaking the rules and regulations!" "You can be punished for it!" "Soldiers, stop them!" "Christ is our saviour!" "That he is!" "Christ is our saviour!" "That he is!" "Well, all the best to us!" "Has anyone here seen Mihajlo?" "Where's my orderly?" "Here, Major sir, help yourself." "It's the done thing." "What are you celebrating?" "Our Saint's Day." "Happy Saint's Day!" "Congratulations." "You've already congratulated me once" "It's his Saint's Day." "He's the oldest!" "Who is he?" "My uncle." "Congratulations, uncle." "And you, soldier, why aren't you joining in?" "You're a Sreækoviæ, too." "I've turned my back on all that religious stuff." "Really!" "Congratulations, my friend!" "Way to go!" "Have a bit." "Don't think of it as food for the Saint's Day!" "Just ease your hunger-- Come on, brother!" "A member of the Young Communists can't be bought  with some roast pork and a swig of weak brandy." "I'm off." "I have to find my orderly." "I promised his father that I'd watch him like a hawk." "He's an only child." "I'd rather die three times than have something happen to him." "He's an only child. how could I look Živorad in the eye?" "What's up with him?" "Is he a bit cuckoo?" "He's been driven mad by grief." "And he's still a bit dazed." "A shell hit him full on." "Right on the chest." "You don't say" "He lost his Guard's Battalion." "He was their commander." "Now he wanders about, looking for them and that Mihajlo." "Come on, Milan, have a bite." "Those are the remains of the dark past." "And the future, trust me, brother" "Come on, brother!" "No way." "Religion is the opium of the masses." "God doesn't exist." "Lightning is the discharge of electricity." "Rain is condensed water vapour." "That's right, brother." "Now come and sit with us." "Don't make me beg." "It's taken seventy, no, eighty years for you three to meet,   and now you're going to sit there by yourself." "If things had been different, you would have met years ago." "I mean if events had taken their normal course  you'd have lived to see the next generation." "Come on, brother." "We've been brought together not by birth but death." "Come on." "Forget about what the Commissar says." "Come on, it's the done thing." "Leave the Commissar out of this, d'you hear?" "Nowadays, he's crossing himself, too, I'm certain of it." "In the Cathedral, alongside the Patriarch." "Come on, brother." "Who gives a damn about the Commissar?" "!" "You're lying!" "I'd give my right arm for you  to be able to have a peek into the Cathedral right now." "You're lying." "You've always been a reactionary." "Both you and dad." "Royalist Chetnik bastards." "What are you talking about?" "Forget about that now, on this holy day." "Let bygones be bygones" "It's a day like any other." "It's our Saint's Day." "It can't be like any other." "Like any other." "Fine, for you it's like any other, for us it isn't." "For us it's our Saint's Day." "Now, come on, sit with us." "Let's eat and drink like civilised people." "A Young Communist doesn't sit with a Chetnik bastard." "Forget about that now." "Come and sit with your brother, uncle and nephew" "My own brother stripping me of my honour." "Chetnik lackey!" "Who stripped whose honour?" "We could have a chat about that, you and I." "And our late father." "I had to prove myself more than anyone else." "Just because my father and my own brother were traitors" "Who'll volunteer?" "Sreækoviæ." "In the Partisans they called me Mad Dog." "I went places where they don't even send dogs." "I've paid dearly for taking the Chetniks their post and pie." "I suffered for three years in prison Mitrovica." "When I was released, I weighed 40 kilos." "And they leant our father up against the fence,   and killed him in his own backyard, like a rabid dog." "Without a trial, without anything--Your lot." "You'd be better off keeping quiet." "And good on them." "What are you arguing about?" "You wouldn't understand, uncle." "It's very complicated." "He's a fine one to preach -- He is." "That's why I died." "Who'll attack the bunker?" "Mad Dog will!" "I don't understand a thing" "It's for the best, uncle." "What's up with you?" "There's nothing to see here." "Get lost!" "It didn't take you long!" "It's been an hour  and you're already at each other's throats." "And you haven't seen each other for fifty years." "He shouldn't have a go at me." "He was always like that." "Always did have a short fuse." "Does it have to be today?" "Can't you leave it for another day?" "You've got all the time in the world." "No "Good day", no "How do you do?"!" "We didn't even ask how life is down there, who's alive" "Instead, scratching each other's eyes out, like cats and dogs." "And today of all days." "Fucking Sreækoviæes!" "Tell him to lay off!" "Christ, Sreækoviæes!" "Fifty years have passed, for God's sake!" "Meanwhile, Katunac keeps on looking" "We haven't even asked how each of us died!" "Did it hurt, brother?" "We laid into each other straight away." "Shall I roll you one?" "Shall I roll you one?" "Yeah." "Toss it over." "Come and get it." "Let's meet half way." "Come off it, for Christ's sake!" "You're behaving like a couple of kids!" "Sit down there!" "That's right." "Cheers." "Did it hurt?" "Nah--Forget about that now." "Nah, it doesn't hurt in the slightest." "When you die for your fatherland  it doesn't hurt at all." "Isn't that so, nephew?" "I was fighting for justice." "Against evil." "I fought against fascism." "He fought for Communism." "To unite the Proletariat." "Not for the fatherland." "That's right and I'd do it again." "So that everyone's equal, so that injustice doesn't exist,.." "... so that people are brothers." "Is that what the Commissar taught you?" "Yes." "The same guy who's now in church." "That's enough!" "Are you going to start again?" "Hey, do you know, Obrad, err, what's her name?" "Kruna--Matiæ." "Yeah." "Is she alive?" "Nah, uncle." "She's not." "Did she marry?" "Nah." "There were suitors, but she wouldn't hear a word of it." "The whole village called her Milan's Kruna." "She was always going to your grave." "Let it go, Kruna!" "It's empty" "She was weeping, the trees at the graveyard were wailing." "It's pointless, Kruna, the grave's empty." "That's the custom, to have an empty grave." "Milan can't hear you." "Yes, he can!" "He can't hear you." "Yes, he can!" "After a while the suitors stopped coming--There." "Well, I never." "Honest!" "How do you know all that?" "You weren't even born then." "Mother told me." "How come she never told me?" "She told you as well, but you weren't listening!" "And when did she die?" "1920 something, from sadness." "I had her picture with me when I died." "It fell into the Sava." "What I'd give for that picture today, dear Lord!" "How did you die?" "It was a shell." "A direct hit on the pontoon." "I went down like a ton of bricks." "As if I had shackles around my legs." "Everything dragged me down:" "my backpack, rifle, boots, grenades" "I didn't make it up to the surface even once." "I disappeared." "I was put down as missing." "People told me afterwards." "No-one remembers their own death." "When, uncle?" "6th September 1914." "We battered them at Cer." "The Allies wanted us  to cross the Sava to reduce the pressure on their front." "Our leader wouldn't hear of it." "But, the Allies insisted and we set off." "We were sitting ducks." "No-one in the Timok division knew how to swim." "Half of us drowned like kittens." "They blasted the Sava with a howitzer." "The pontoon flipped over." "We all sank with it." "Like lead." "How come you were in the Timok division?" "When the Krauts attacked, everybody joined up the army." "They turned me away for being too young." "I ran off to Zajeèar, lied about my name and age " "And they took you?" "You died under someone else's name" "When the fatherland's at stake  does it really matter whose name you died under?" "Stanimir or Stanislav, Milan or Dragan, it's all the same." "Fate finds you no matter which name you hide under." "It was like we were fated to die at Srem." "What can you do, uncle?" "There's no escaping fate." "Still, can't complain." "We got off lightly." "The Czechs and Hungarians were pummelling us." "As if they were on manoeuvres at the shooting range." "I've only got one regret" "What's that, uncle?" "It doesn't matter." "Go on." "It doesn't matter." "What about Darka?" "She didn't either." "Honestly?" "She didn't I'm telling you." "She's a spinster to this very day." "You fight like cats and dogs, yet you are so alike." "Even your girlfriends had the same name." "My mother's called Darka, too." "Is that how it is, you bastard?" "!" "I'll have your fucking guts for garters!" "What's wrong with you?" "!" "Have you gone mad?" "!" "Fucking bastard!" "Let me go" "Of all the girls, you had to have her, you fucking Chetnik." "What's going on here?" "!" "Break it up!" "You'll be court-martialled for this." "Chetnik fucker" "What's happening here?" "He married my Darka." "Nothing's sacred to you." "Out of all the girls in the whole county  you had to have her, you fucking Chetnik" "What did you expect?" "What did you expect, you fucking bastard?" "!" "Eh?" "Everything was meant to stop when you died, eh?" "Life goes on." "Why did I marry Darka?" "How could they all have got married, eh?" "We should've buried them alive with you, eh?" "Is that it?" "They should've become nuns or died, eh?" "Or had their cunts sealed with wax, eh?" "Who would there have been to have babies, for God's sake?" "With the rate we die at, we have to breed like rabbits." "Why did I marry Darka?" "Because you shamed the girl!" "You promised yourself to her, you got what you wanted." "Then you ran off to join the Partisans." "Because nobody else wanted damaged goods." "And because nobody else wanted me." "Who wanted to marry a Chetnik prisoner?" "There!" "That's why!" "That's why, you selfish bastard!" "We wanted kids to keep the family line going." "She mourned you for four years." "What more do you want?" "What about Kruna?" "She married, too." "ln 1919, as soon as the army returned from Greece." "What did you expect, you bastards?" "Fucking hell!" "She even had children, just so you know." "What the hell is going on here?" "!" "What the hell is this, my friend?" "I've had it up to fucking here with you, too." "Dad--Wait." "Why, Kruna?" "Why?" "Who's in charge here, soldier?" "That's a tricky question, ma'am." "How should I know?" "He's alive, I'm telling you." "He isn't." "There'll be none of that." "D'you hear?" "Not a word." "Why have we trekked 300 kilometres?" "Why can't we be lucky for once?" "He's alive." "We'll find him, you'll see." "We'll find him--Maybe." "But not alive." "You're like a broken record." "He's not alive, he's not alive." "How would you know?" "The same reason I knew he wasn't in the coffin." "Why did you come then?" "I don't want to hear that talk again." "He's alive and that's the end of it." "Why did you come if not?" "To meet up with him one last time." "Quick!" "Give me my coat back!" "Katunac has ordered an inspection." "Sorry." "And how long's this going to last?" "Them down there condemn the dead,   and you lot condemn the living." "One big vicious circle." "Fucking Sreækoviæes!" "Has anyone seen Mihajlo, eh?" "My orderly" "Where the hell's he got to?" "Has anyone seen him?" "No, Major sir." "When he shows up, tell him to wait here for me." "That's an order." "He isn't to move an inch." "That's how he got lost in Kosovo." "When he shows up, tell him to wait for me here." "Is that clear?" "I'll do my best, Major sir." "Why's he talking about Kosovo now?" "Which war's he from?" "He died with us." "And with us." "He's died eight times." "The first time was at the Marica." "Are you having me on?" "I don't understand a thing." "You're not meant to." "You've not been dead five minutes." "Hang on!" "How can a man die eight times?" "What's up with you lot?" "The ninth time will be his last." "He won't die anymore and nor will anyone else." "He'll be the last Serb to die." "That's how the story goes." "That's what soldiers say." "Maybe it's a legend, but maybe it's for real." "What rubbish!" "Death obviously plays havoc with the mind!" "You might be dead, but are you crazy as well?" "You can't understand." "But it's impossible" "It's impossible everywhere, except here, in Serbia." "And you believe that, do you?" "It's easier to believe it." "And the Major knows." "Ask him." "Ask a madman who doesn't know when or where he lost his army." "You're crazier than he is." "I don't believe it, either." "So you can speak after all" "And he's agreeing with his brother, too." "Pigs will fly tonight" "He died with us." "I saw it with my own eyes." "And with us." "As soon as we go to war, he disappears." "He goes to die again." "Lucky him." "Why is he lucky?" "Is there anything better than to die for your fatherland?" "There is, uncle!" "To live for it--To live for it." "I'd give anything to be alive." "Leave it, son!" "Leave it" "How can I leave it?" "I'd give my right arm to be alive." "So I could play in a game, and score a winning goal." "So I could have a cold beer, wash my car." "So I could go to town with Mila to buy her something new." "So I could plough the fields with a new tractor" "Why did this have to happen to me?" "Forget it, son!" "Forget it." "Why me, dad?" "You should be ashamed!" "You call yourself a Sreækoviæ!" "You don't even come close." "To be inside a woman, dad" "What?" "You haven't ever?" "Well, neither have I. But you don't see me snivelling." "Forget it, son." "Forget it, my boy" "So Lena could sing to me in Ture's bar:" "I was born in a meadow," "My horses and oxen were first-class," "But because of the beauty of a girl from town," "I forgot the valleys and the grass." "Dad" "Don't, son, don't." "Forget it" "Well, how did you die?" "No-one remembers their own death." "How Milan?" "How?" "I've no idea, dad!" "Honest to God, I've no idea." "Oh God." "I've no idea, dad!" "Honest to God, I've no idea." "In opening a sealed coffin you committed a serious crime" "Don't you threaten me, you little shit!" "You send me an empty coffin and then you threaten me." "This is a serious crime before God and the people." "Your punishment will be far more worse than your threats." "I'll personally carry it out." "What's happened to my husband?" "Calm down, comrade, please." "Listen you, curlytop!" "While you were eating chicken shit  I was halfway through University." "That's why I can never be your comrade!" "Mother" "I apologise, ma'am." "Is he alive?" "We wanted to spare you various" "Is he alive?" "!" "No, madam, unfortunately not." "Major Katunac fell bravely defending the fatherland" "Come off it!" "You don't hear lines like that even in third-rate films." "I give you my word that we had the best of intentions." "This is all a tragic misunderstanding." "He's alive, I know he is." "He's been captured or he's on some mission somewhere." "I know." "If only that was the case, madam." "Why the empty coffin then?" "He died in quite an unusual way." "I didn't want to upset either you or this child any further." "I can only imagine what you've been through" "Don't you worry about us." "We're made of strong stuff." "And, yes, you can only imagine what a man goes through  when he opens a coffin and sees two concrete blocks." "Though I doubt you're even capable of that, Colonel." "How did he die?" "I want the truth..." "The whole truth!" "Did he kill himself?" "Major Katunac was hit by a shell from a tank." "While charging." "He was hit in the chest." "There was nothing left of him." "Do you understand?" "Nothing." "He would've had to be classed as missing." "Then, madam, the army doesn't pay for his funeral." "Then you spend years battling to get his pension." "Then you don't have a place where you can mourn him." "That's why the coffin was empty." "Please, madam, have a seat." "Did anyone see it happen?" "The whole of his battalion." "I want to see the place." "And to talk to his soldiers." "To those who witnessed it." "You can see the place at light." "No, now!" "It's dark, madam." "And I want to talk to the soldiers." "Madam, I'm going to tell you a top military secret." "I'm counting on the fact that you're an officer's wife." "Fire away, Colonel." "The Major's battalion are lost." "There's no-one left to talk to." "What do you mean - lost?" "Several days after the Major's death, they simply disappeared." "We're waiting for this fog to clear." "Maybe they've wandered off, or they've been captured." "There's simply no sign of them." "None of them, except Mihajlo." "He can take you to the place in the morning." "He'll take me there now." "Who's Mihajlo?" "The Major's orderly." "They call them attendants now." "Živorad's son." "You don't know either him or Živorad." "Your father's friend." "We all lived together when we were in Sarajevo." "Call him." "Madam, it's dark." "It's not safe." "I'd urge you to wait until the morning." "It's pointless, Colonel." "I have to see the place now." "He can explain were is that place." "I'll go by myself." "Lieutenant, call Private Japundža." "Right away, sir." "Could I ask you for a favour?" "Certainly." "Can you put my girl up somewhere for the night?" "Certainly." "I'm coming, too." "You'll stay here with the Colonel." "I won't be long." "You've got as much chance of convincing me to stay as  the Colonel had of convincing you." "I'm reporting as ordered." "Private Mihajlo Japundža." "And wake that donkey up." "He'll sleep through the whole war." "You've got a nice place here." "Much nicer than in some tent just behind the trenches." "The wind just won't get up to blow this fog away." "I can't see a thing." "It gets into your bones." "And into your soul." "If only it would clear for just a second." "So I could see them." "They're out there somewhere, I can feel it." "Don't fret, Major sir!" "They'll be here soon." "Any minute now." "D'you know what those boys are like?" "All of them." "One metre eighty-six to a man." "Take a breather, Major." "They'll be here soon." "Don't worry." "They'll see the fires." "I have to keep a look-out a little while longer." "Imagine if they show up and I'm not here to greet them." "Imagine the shame of it!" "Keep on looking, Major sir!" "They'll be here soon." "Any minute now." "Can you hear that?" "It sounds like the beating of a drum." "We'll have some newcomers tonight." "What are you thinking about?" "About the sniper." "About the one that got you?" "Yeah." "Not much of a feather in his cap." "He got himself a rotten apple!" "May God forgive him." "That's why he went to war - to kill and be killed." "But the ones that killed the three of you  they cut the tree off at its roots, see?" "The guy that killed me, killed me." "Just me." "The one that killed you  killed God knows how many future generations." "I'd have married Kruna." "She'd have had Milisav within the year, but he would have died." "Then Stanko, Ostana, Miljurko, Danilo and Leposava  would have been born." "Stanko would have married Jovana Kociæ." "Ostana would have married Janko Sretenoviæ and gone to Sipiæ." "They'd have had three children." "Stanko would have had Milan." "Named after me." "He'd have had his granddad's name." "Then there'd have been Dragana, Jovan, Dobrinka and Bogoljub." "Ostana would have had Miliæ, Koviljka and Spasenija." "Miljurko would have married Jela Markoviæ from Vojinovac." "He'd have had Milica, Natalija, Mileva and Predrag." "Danilo would have married Branka Mijailoviæ from Koraæica." "He'd have had Vlada, Jelena, Velimir and Julijana." "Leposava would have married Slavuj from the village." "She'd have led a bad life and had Senka and Marko." "She'd have died soon after." "I'd have married Darka." "Milan, my grandchild, would have married Stanojka from Vuèiæi." "He'd have had Vidoje, Radovan and Borika." "Dragana would have married Radiša's son, Nikola." "They'd have had twin boys - Preža and Neša." "I'd have had Slavko, Sava and Jelica." "The Germans would have killed Jovan in 1941 in Kragujevac." "He'd have gone to sharpen his plough blade and to buy  some penny sweets for his niece." "The Germans would have picked him up at the store,   and killed him with all the rest." "Dobrinka would have married in Montenegro in Golubovci." "Into the Raièeiviæ family." "She'd have had Veljko, Jakov, Milika, Krstina and Jelistina." "Jelica wouldn't have married." "She'd have fallen off a swing.." ".. at the age of 14 and would have died four weeks later." "Slavko would have had Dejan and Vesna." "Sava would have married Marija the teacher." "He would have had Violeta." "Miljurko's Milica, Natalija and Mileva would have married  Rajko from Toponica, Rastko from Paraæin, a glassblower,   and Svetozar from Resnik." "They'd have had Jelka, Slavomir, Srba, Sanja,   Dragoljub and Janja." "Dejan would have married Tamara Stojkov from Beèej." "They'd have had Miroljub." "Miljurko's Predrag would have married Svetlana Popoviæ." "He'd have had Milan, an only child." "I'd have married my Mila." "Jelena and Julijana would have married." "One in Belgrade, the other in Jagodina." "I'd have had Obrada and Jelisaveta." "Vesna and Violeta would have married." "One in Užice, the other in Novi Sad." "They'd have had Slaviša, Slobodan, Igor and Tanja." "Velimir would have married Nasta." "He'd have had" "Who the hell managed to kill so many Serbs with three bullets?" "May he rot in Hell!" "Can I ask you something, brother?" "Ask away, little brother." "The stuff about the old man, is it true?" "I've already told you." "Ðuka Dulinac and Misa Mirkoviæ killed him, against our fence." "Half the village was watching." "Not that." "I mean the Old Man." "Which old man, for Christ's sake?" "Tito, of course!" "What about Tito?" "These new guys who come here, they say he died." "He did." "Are you sure?" "Yep." "But how, damn it!" "?" "..." "Well, he was only human!" "You're having me on, aren't you?" "How the hell could he die?" "He was as surprised as you are, brother." "He went and died, just like that!" "But how, damn it" "How?" "There's still no-one new up here yet." "Thank God." "Have you got any more of that brandy, nephew?" "There's one more bottle in the bag." "Just the job!" "It's our Saint's Day today." "We have to have a drink or two." "Well, cheers!" "All the best." "There they are!" "They're coming!" "My falcons are coming!" "They're coming!" "My swans are coming!" "He's found them, thank God." "No, he hasn't." "It happens whenever anyone new comes." "He's mistaken every time." "I don't think he'll ever find his boys." "Three more..." "Here's to celebrating next year's Saint's Day back home." "Lucky me and lucky you girl, You girl," "When our meadows meet, Our meadows meet" "Whose is that song?" "I've never heard it before." "I know it." "I don't." "Mile's watering his oxen at the river, Mile's watering" "I don't know that one." "I do." "The bell is clanking on the ox, The bell is clanking" "I know that one, but you'll never catch me singing it!" "I'm the fair-haired son of fields and meadows," "My horses and oxen were first-class," "But because of the beauty of a girl from town," "I forgot the valleys and the grass" "It's a beauty, but I don't know it." "Neither do I." "Is there at least one song that all of us can sing together?" "I doubt it." "We're going to sing a song together, in harmony." "In my time, the Sreækoviæes were renowned singers." "They still are." "No-one can sing like the Sreækoviæes even today." "What will it be?" "You start." "You're the only one who knows everything we know." "What about 'Mother called Jova across three hills'?" "But you can lead, brother, and we'll follow you." "You're on." "But let's do it properly." "Wait!" "What's up now, for God's sake?" "We can't sing properly, until my cap's at the right angle." "Alright--go!" "Mother called Jova across three hills," "Mother called Jova across three hills." "Jova, my boy, are you turning in your grave?" "Jova, my boy, are you turning in your grave?" "Fucking Sreækoviæes!" "From here we'll go on foot." "Be careful and stay behind me." "Don't even think about veering off to one side or the other." "Is it because of the mines?" "Yep." "How are your parents, dear?" "Say hello to them." "We'll go this way." "If you should need the toilet, don't leave the path." "God only knows how many there are scattered about round here" "I mean mines." "And also because of the snipers." "What will come of it, I wonder?" "Pain and sorrow." "Do you remember me?" "No, madam." "Of course, you were just a kid." "I didn't catch how Živorad and Nerandža are?" "There." "It was over there." "The Major stood up straight." "To give the command "Follow me"." "He never said "Charge!"." "And then he disappeared." "I didn't see it." "The Major'd sent me to fetch the signal pistol." "My friends told me what happened." "Before they got lost." "When we find them, they'll tell you the whole story." "If we find them, sonny-- If we find them." "Take us over there." "To this very day I've got no idea why Vukašin sent me  for that signal pistol." "What did he want with my bloody--?" "Sorry, madam." "But he's alive." "It just seems like that." "He's still warm." "Here, look-- Straight through the heart." "A sniper." "It's been less than two hours." "Give this to the Colonel." "I'll bury him here." "Tell him, on the road to Jankovci." "They'll pick him up in the morning." "Why bury him now?" "They'll ravage him tonight." "Who?" "Animals." "Or people." "If only I knew why he was smiling, dear God!" "Fall in!" "What is this place?" "A beauty parlour?" "!" "Lieutenant!" "Have them fall in!" "Fall in!" "Where've you been?" "Having a leak." "He's lying." "He went to find the newcomers." "Why?" "Leave it!" "As soon as anyone new appears, he goes to greet them." "He really goes to hear how he died." "It's not important, son, for God's sake" "For me, dad, there's nothing more important." "Did this lot know?" "Nah!" "How come?" "They're your lot." "No, they aren't." "Some lot from Srem." "They don't know any of my lot." "Fall in!" "Silence over there!" "Soldiers, heroes, brothers" "The Supreme Command has erased our regiment from its records." "Therefore, you don't have to worry about your lives." "They don't exist anymore." "Soldiers, heroes, brothers" "Here we go again." "How come he doesn't tire of it?" "Why should he?" "His words have the power to heal!" "I get goose pimples." "The Supreme Command has done it." "I'm hiding nothing from you." "Don't, leave it for today!" "We're listening, Major sir!" "Come on!" "Stop going on!" "Long live the Major!" "Fuck the Major!" "Brothers, Kosovo is swarming with soldiers." "Were we grains of salt instead of warriors  we could not salt the Turkish army's dinner." "Brothers, just because the enemy is considerable  is it any reason for us not to defend our homeland?" "Battle is not fought by shining weapons,   but by the hearts of heroes." "Other people's feet wont trample all over our country." "My friends, we'd rather be ploughing the land,   listening to the shepherd's pipes,   celebrating a wedding or mounting our women." "But when the cloud of an enemy is hanging above Serbia,   we all must take our guns and polish our boots." "All of us." "Kiss your bride, bless the kids and the baby in its cradle,   and off to battle." "Mighty is the oath of our righteous prince!" "And he who comes not to fight at Kosovo,   beneath his hand let nothing decent grow." "Let him rust away like dripping iron,   until his name shall be extinguished!" "Woe be to him on whose head falls the despise  of his own people, his ancestors and descendants." "There is no greater punishment that that." "My friends, my brothers, soldiers, heroes!" "Your lives are no more." "The Supreme Command has erased  our regiment from its records." "None of us will return." "Many mothers will wear black." "Many widows and sisters will tear out their hair." "But victory will be ours." "Because justice is on our side." "God is on our side." "Our people are behind us." "An army which has its people behind it is invincible." "My sons, my falcons!" "Don't have the hearts of cowards, but of heroes!" "There's nothing that can't be brought before the altar of  your homeland!" "No price is too high to pay.... ... when the honour of the fatherland is at stake!" "My friends." "If anyone wants to piss on our hearths,   rob our graves, upset our cradles,   for him there can be no mercy." "True?" "True!" "I can't hear you." "True?" "TRUE!" "True?" "TRUE!" "Be merciless with enemies, be gracious with prisoners." "Gallantry is more important than heroism." "They want our country, they'll get jackshit!" "A steaming, rancid pile of shit - that's what they'll get." "Before us stands uncertainty, the enemy, hunger and death." "But the hour of the final victory is nigh." "What's ours is ours." "We don't need anything from anyone else." "Nothing is dearer than Serbia!" "Isn't that true, my brothers?" "!" "TRUE!" "True, my friends?" "!" "TRUE!" "True, my falcons?" "!" "TRUE!" "True, Serbs?" "!" "TRUE!" "His words have the power to heal." "We bow down to you, Major sir!" "Long live the Major!" "Long live Katunac!" "That's the spirit!" "So onward to glory, for the king,   for the fatherland, for our sweet Orthodox God,   for the honour of the cross and precious freedom." "To battle, to freedom, to death!" "Long live Katunac!" "lit's easy for him to die!" "He's been killed eight times before." "I've only been given one death." "We're the only ones he didn't mention again." "It's as if our death is different." "Is there anything human about you?" "Anything Serbian?" "Why's that?" "Because he moved us to tears." "Because we're ready to die once again." "Because his words have the power to heal, that's why!" "What's the point in freedom, uncle, if we all die?" "In that case Serbia could stretch all the way to China." "It's pointless" "Fucking goodfornothings!" "You fucking yellow-bellies!" "Do you piss sitting down?" "Why are you being like that, uncle?" "When we heard the word 'mobilisation'  we all ran to defend the fatherland." "Young and old, the crippled and the lame alike." "We came from God knows where, from America, to die here" "What are you saying?" "That we were sissies, what?" "Children went off to die along with old folk, because" "We did, too." "Half of us hadn't even started shaving." "Four days training and then off to Srem." "And then with a plank of wood strapped to our backsides." "Not a single rifle." "Guns at the ready, aim, fire!" "With planks of wood." "Those from Belgrade fled their homes,  having had croissant and honey for breakfast, ... then off to the mud of Srem." "You're telling me!" "We didn't come here for a holiday, either!" "You keep your mouth shut." "Your back and honour are stained!" "What's up, soldiers?" "What are you fighting about?" "You could, Major, mention us just for once." "You could be COMRADE major just for once." "We died in battle, too, not in some train crash!" "And who doesn't mention you?" "You." "Never." "That's not true." "Yes, it is." "No, it isn't." "Yes, it is." "And what did we die for?" "For what?" "I told you to be quiet." "And why should he be quiet?" "And you be quiet, too." "You did a fine job bringing him up!" "I'm just sorry I died." "And so you should be!" "No, you shouldn't." "Isn't that so, Major sir?" "You've never once mentioned us." "Is that because we don't belong to your lot?" "And who died at Gospiæ on 15th May 1945?" "Who?" "Who was the last Partisan officer to be killed  in the World War?" "That was my seventh death." "Isn't that so, Kuzman?" "That's right, Comrade Katunac." "And I died here for the eighth time." "You're all equal in my eyes, my friends, all of you!" "It's easy for you to die when each death brings rebirth,   and each war a new life." "That's enough of that!" "Every night I'm praying to God to be killed a ninth time." "There's not a day that goes by." "And who was it that leapt on tanks and into bunkers?" "Who?" "Okay, okay." "That's enough!" "Off to bed, soldiers!" "Come on!" "Why?" "It's dark here even in the morning." "Will it ever get brighter here?" "Eh, Major sir?" "I don't think so, Sreækoviæ." "Not for us." "We don't need it to." "Major!" "What is it?" "Err..." "Fire away, old man, what are you waiting for?" "Is your ninth death really your last?" "Yes." "Will it be the last Serbian death?" "I mean that's what they say." "It will be." "And then you'll be as dead as the rest of us." "Worse than that, Sreækoviæ, much worse." "Then I hope that-- err" "Your prayers and wishes are answered as quickly as possible." "Thank you, Sreækoviæ." "May God hear your prayer!" "Here, this is where it was." "They say that the Major was standing right here." "So, it was here." "What to do, my handsome falcon!" "?" "Where are you looking for that battalion of yours and dad's?" "For now nowhere." "It's too dangerous." "I need daylight and this fog to lift." "Don't bother looking for them any more." "Why?" "They're out here somewhere." "Please, don't." "I'm begging you." "We can go home now, darling." "It's all okay now." "I still have to see dad." "Has he got any gold ones?" "Not a single one." "Just our luck!" "Some kid with all thirty-two." "What d'you reckon?" "Did they slaughter them first or gouge their eyes out?" "Well, hello, there." "Keeping busy, eh?" "Don't, sonny." "Maybe they're on our side." "Looters are looters." "Are you asleep, uncle?" "No chance." "Why?" "What's up?" "Can't you sleep?" "Nah." "Come on, go to sleep, man." "I can't." "Don't think about home and you'll fall asleep." "I can't help it." "As soon as I close my eyes" "You're back in Veliko Krèmare." "Isn't that so?" "How do you know?" "He's not been dead for long." "What do you mean, dad, "how do we know"?" "We've all been through it." "Now I manage to fall asleep somehow,   but I always have the same dream." "Let me guess" "It's like that for all of us." "Come on, sleep." "You'll get used to it." "Give it time." "Like we all have." "Don't worry." "So, you all dream about home." "Yep." "Those of us who aren't lying in our graves back home." "Well, let's go and lie in them then!" "Where, for Christ's sake?" "Back home, of course." "Shut up and go to sleep!" "Stop talking nonsense." "It's forbidden." "Go to sleep." "No-one can tell a dead man how to lead his life." "Forget it, Obrad." "Go to sleep!" "I'm done with sleeping." "I'm off home." "You're talking through the back of your head!" "That's enough bloody poppycock!" "I'm going, mark my words!" "It's up to you whether you come with me." "How, dad?" "How?" "I'll walk." "One foot after the other." "Lie down and go to sleep." "Stop talking baloney!" "Now you've put the idea into my head, dad!" "Just go to sleep." "It's just the same there as it is here." "Maybe the sun comes up there" "I can see it now!" "Day is dawning." "The birds are singing." "Maybe back home the sun will shine for us, too." "Come on, uncle." "Forget it!" "Brother." "Uh-uh." "Why not, for crying out loud?" "!" "My grave's not empty." "There's nowhere for me to lie." "Next to dad." "I'm not talking to him." "Well, next to me then." "Who knows how long I'll be talking to you for!" "We're off, son, you and me!" "What?" "With this on my back!" "No chance." "There's no need for you to feel ashamed, junior." "Well, who should then?" "The one who pulled the trigger." "No way!" "Brother?" "I already told you." "Dad'll be thrilled." "We're not on speaking terms." "I know you aren't." "Let's go so you can make up" "No way!" "Maybe your grave's empty after all." "You said that someone was buried there." "True." "But maybe that someone's gone back home." "Come on, brother!" "Come on, I'm begging you!" "What sort of people are you, for Christ's sake?" "!" "Dead people." "Maybe our future generations are waiting for us there, eh?" "Maybe Stanko and Miljurko are there." "And Ostana and Miliæ and Koviljka, eh?" "Vidoje and Borinka-- Maybe they're waiting for us." "And what if they're not?" "But what if they are?" "Along with Mileva and Preža and Neša and Sava and Jelica." "Come on, Sreækoviæes, for God's sake!" "Mihajlo." "What about Katunac?" "Once you're here, you can't go anywhere." "Absolutely nowhere!" "Mihajlo!" "Mihajlo!" "Katunac." "Let me worry about Katunac." "Are they your lot?" "No." "They're from Srem, I know them" "Good God" "What do you think?" "Did they first gouge their eyes out or slaughter them?" "Mihajlo." "Come and help." "They don't deserve to be buried." "Come on, son." "You don't have to take that burden upon yourself." "There's someone else to judge them now." "Stop!" "What do you want those for?" "I'm an archaeologist, son." "Come on, Mihajlo." "Keeping watch, eh, Major?" "Keeping watch, eh?" "Just you carry on." "Err, can I ask you something?" "Fire away." "The soldiers say-- Is it true--?" "Stop beating about the bush, old man." "Get to the point." "Is it true that the sun never comes up here?" "It's true." "D'you want a smoke?" "Go on then." "And, err..." "There's something else on your mind, my friend." "Spit it out!" "Why don't you just let me take the kids home?" "Nobody ever leaves this place." "Why?" "Orders are orders." "You can leave, but only over my dead body." "Sorry if I'm asking too many questions" "Ask away, my friend." "Is it true that you've been killed eight times?" "Yeah, it's true." "How d'you manage that?" "The first time was at the Marica, then at Kosovo." "Then with Stevan Štiljanoviæ, then at Kumanovo." "Then at the Solun front, before that with Major Gavriloviæ." "Then when we liberated Gospiæ and now here." "And if you're killed once more, no-one else ever will be?" "Not a single Serb." "Ever again." "God willing, I won't have to wait much longer." "Well, speed it up a bit." "Why don't you, err" "Kill yourself?" "It's no use, Sreækoviæ." "I'm not allowed to do it myself." "All this becomes futile." "The only way is for someone to help me." "Why are you looking for the soldiers and Mihajlo?" "What do you mean "why"?" "That's my army." "My orderly." "I promised his father that I'd watch him like a hawk." "Well, stop looking for them, Major sir." "I can't, my friend, I can't." "You don't have to look for them any more." "You don't need them." "Maybe they miss you, but you can't miss them." "Why?" "Because you should be rejoicing if you can't find them." "You should be praying to God that you don't find them." "Why?" "Until they come here, they may be alive, that's why." "And if they're not, at least they're buried back home." "D'you get what I'm saying, Major?" "Pray to God that they're not here." "Don't look for them." "But I miss them, my friend." "You're telling me!" "Without them is like being without air." "My swans" "The Guard's Battalion." "Anyway, Major, just to let you know" "I'm taking my kids home today." "If only the wind would get up to blow this fog away a bit." "It gets into the soul." "My kids today" "I'd also have a clearer view." "Just to let you know." "I'm going to lie down for a bit." "Over there, away from it all." "I won't be with the soldiers." "I'll be over there." "There's nobody over there." "Not a soul." "It's secluded." "I'm taking my kids home today, mark my word." "Over my dead body, Sreækoviæ." "Over my dead body" "We should get going." "You two go on ahead." "I'll just be a minute." "Wait for me over there." "I'll be quick." "We should" "I won't be long." "Woe to the children!" "Woe to the sons!" "Woe to the grandchildren!" "Woe to the fathers!" "Woe to the uncles!" "Woe to the grandfathers!" "Woe to the nephews!" "Woe to the brothers-in-law!" "Woe to the sons-in-law!" "Woe to all the lost generations!" "What's she doing, for crying out loud?" "Well, she's an archaeologist." "And that's one of the long-lost Serbian traditions." "She's burying her tears, sorrow and grief." "I've only got two wishes." "For the sun to come up  and not to have to listen to this anymore." "There'll be newcomers tonight." "You reckon." "They haven't fought like this for ages." "That's one hell of a battle." "If only I could get some sleep, dad" "There's still no newcomers." "Thank God for that." "Come on, kids, we're off home." "Come on, let's go back home." "Where's Katunac?" "Where are you off to?" "He's off to greet the newcomers." "Strange that there's no sign of Katunac." "Why would he greet them?" "Maybe he'll see someone he knows." "Someone who can tell him how he was killed." "Oh God!" "Look how many there are!" "How many what?" "New ones, of course!" "Oh, God!" "How much longer?" "For God's sake, how much longer?" "Just tonight" "Just tonight, that's all." "Who are they?" "My lot." "Well?" "Is that a river?" "Yes." "Take us there." "Please." "You forgot your sabre." "I'm begging you--Go on." "I can't do it myself." "You can do it, my friend." "You can." "Come on, man!" "Come on!" "Forgive me, Major!" "But you, God, don't have to." "Get up." "Now." "Where are we going?" "Home." "I'm not going." "Yes, you are." "I can't leave my comrades." "How can I?" "Day's breaking back home." "Katunac just told me." "Come on." "I'm not going." "Move." "Brother!" "Archangel Michael!" "Archangel Michael!" "And?" "What now?" "!" "My wound's gone, dad!" "It really has." "As if it was never there." "How do we get across the Sava?" "The same way we crossed the meadow." "One foot after the other." "Look." "There he is." "Who?" "Dad." "What can you see?" "It doesn't matter." "What is it?" "A snowflake." "Now we can go home!" "Day really is breaking, Sreækoviæes!" "Here's the address." "Give me a call if you want." "You must come and see us when all this is over." "Oh, and say hello to Živorad and Narandža." "I'll visit for sure." "But as for saying hello to them, I can't." "When you write to them." "They're dead, madam." "Živorad and Nerandža." "Ages ago." "I'm sort of doing all this for them." "Where are you going now?" "I'm going to look for my boys." "Don't." "It's dawn." "And the fog has lifted." "Don't." "Don't." "I'm begging you." "Give me a call." "What did you do that for?" "Shut up and drive." "Who are you lot?" "Keep driving, girl." "You're the Guard's Battalion." "Keep moving, lady." "I'm Nada Katunac." "Battalion halt!" "To the left!" "Salute!" "Major!" "Has the Major been looking for me?" "Has anyone seen Katunac?" "Major, it's me, Mihajlo!" "Has the Major been looking for me?" "Major, it's me, Mihajlo!" "Major!" "It's me, Mihajlo!" "It's me, Mihajlo" "Major!" "Major!"