Broj 55

The film is dedicated to Croatian soldiers who died in an ambush in the early stages of the war for independence. It doesn't work well as a dedication though. We learn very little about characters or political background or broader picture of the war (or heaven forbid, the enemy's angle) since the director prefers to shoot action scenes. More precisely, one big action scene. There's barely any pause among constant gun fire.

The director sticks to his strong suit - the action is shot well and will make your heart race. While special effects and gruesome deaths are convincing, the combat itself leaves a lot to be desired. Enemies stagger around the heroes' stronghold or charge at it dying in dozens (Maybe hundreds? Somebody should do the body count) instead of chucking grenades through windows. They are ugly, fat, bearded and of course adorned with chetnik insignia. Don't expect any subtlety in the portrayal of the enemy.

Acting is not great but for Croatian standards it's not bad either. Let's just say it doesn't get in the way.

I'm a Croat and the film did engage and was in some ways better than I expected (which just goes to show how bad Croatian films usually are) so I benevolently gave it 7 stars. If I didn't have the emotional connection I would've given it 5 stars tops. In that case I would've wondered why the film is recorded in a first place. If you want to deliver a patriotic message there are better ways to do it than shooting 70 minutes of shooting.