Deveti krug
(1960)
A classic of early 60's Croatian cinema and nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, THE NINTH CIRCLE is a heartbreaking, inexorably powerful drama about the love affair between two young people - one a Christian and one a Jew - during the terrifying days of WW2. A hotheaded engineering student, Ivo (Boris Dvornik) agrees to an arranged marriage with a shy young Jewish girl, Ruth (Dusica Zegarac) at the urging of his parents, to protect her from the anti-Semitic violence sweeping through Croatia. Ivo thinks he can continue his own personal life with his long-time girlfriend on the side - but soon finds out, to his bitter regret, that a "wife", even in name only, is a complicated commitment. Slowly, his resentment of Ruth is replaced by a grudging acceptance, which grows inevitably into love - a love that can't protect the two from the tragic and horrifying reality spreading all around them.