Evening Bells

After the screening meeting with director Lordan Zafranović and Patrycjusz Pająk.

The final chapter of Lordan Zafranović’s historical and political trilogy, Evening Bells stands as one of the defining works of 1980s Yugoslavian cinema—a sweeping, multifaceted portrait of Croatia through the upheavals before, during, and after World War II. At its center is Tomislav K., a young archaeologist and idealist who embraces communism, convinced that a just world can be built. Yet history allows for no pure choices—political turmoil forces him and those around him into moral dilemmas where the lines between loyalty and betrayal, revolution and opportunism, quickly blur. Against the backdrop of his journey, a vast panorama of the era unfolds—rife with social contrasts, moral tensions, political maneuvering, and brutal reckonings. With his signature mastery, Zafranović seamlessly intertwines intimate drama with grand historical spectacle, crafting a film that mesmerizes with its atmosphere, stuns with its visual scope, and probes the weight of human choices in times that leave no room for illusions. Evening Bells is not only a haunting meditation on the cost of conviction but also a searing exploration of the nature of evil, demanding deep reflection long after the credits roll.

Maša Guštin

The film print was provided by the Croatian State Archive.

Lordan Zafranović (b. 1944) is a director born in Maslinica (now Croatia), best known for his trilogy dedicated to World War II. The first part, Occupation in 26 Pictures (1978), presented at the Cannes Film Festival, is a personal narrative in which images from the Italian occupation intertwine with reflections on history and everyday life. The trilogy is completed by The Fall of Italy (1981), starring Daniel Olbrychski, and Evening Bells (1986). Zafranović’s work is often associated with the so-called Black Wave of Yugoslav cinema, a movement shaped in the 1960s by filmmakers such as Dušan Makavejev and Aleksandar Petrović.