The Ninth Circle

The Ninth Circle (Croatian: Deveti krug / Девети круг) is a 1960 Yugoslavian film directed by France Štiglic. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.^[1] It was also entered into the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.^[2]

Plot

During World War II in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, occupied by the Nazis. Ruth, a Jewish teenage girl of seventeen is good friends with Ivo, a nineteen-year-old catholic Croatian boy, and his family. The Germans are prosecuting Jews more and more, and Ruth's parents get arrested. Ivo's parents persuade him to marry Ruth and lead a fake marriage in order to save her. Ivo is reluctant since he already has a lovely girlfriend, Magda, and because his student friends are teasing him for rushing to marriage at such an early age. Ruth sees that she is causing him great pain and runs away, but Ivo brings her back and falls in love with her. Ruth is eventually brought to a concentration camp named The Ninth Circle. Ivo finds her and tries to make her escape, but the couple dies when they try to cross the electrified fence.

Critical reception

The Ninth Circle was nominated for the Golden Palm in Cannes and for an Oscar for best foreign language film.

In 1999, a poll of Croatian film critics found it to be one of the best Croatian films ever made.^[3]

Cast

• Boris Dvornik as Ivo Vojnović
• Dušica Žegarac as Ruth Alakalaj
• Beba Lončar as Magda (as Desanka Lončar)
• Dragan Milivojević as Zvonko

See also

• List of submissions to the 33rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Yugoslav submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References

External links

• The Ninth Circle at the Internet Movie Database