Aleksandar Petrović is a household name and for good reason he remains one of the most beloved directors in the history of Serbian and Yugoslav cinema. A man of indefatigable character and perceptive feeling, he had a wondrous eye for detail and a unique ability to detect the inner life of people and express them through cinematography and music, all the while preserving the integrity of experience. His films confidently combine measure and spontaneity as he weaves a story visually on to the screen. Petrović was able to show the worst of sorrows but with an undefeated, vivid sense of goodwill. Portraying the plights of people and places that were rarely portrayed on screen, he showed the bustling life of rural (as well as urban) locales, the ecclesiastical life of communities in times when portrayals of the Church were uncommon, and the tribulations of Roma people, with whom he felt intimately connected. Aleksandar Petrović is both the ultimate classical master and the most refreshing innovator. Many of his trademark characteristics meet in the powerful drama Tri, which takes the form of a triptych, with stories set at the beginning, middle and the end of the Second World War. In the first, a young student arrives at a rural train station only to behold the execution of an innocent man. In the second, a partisan and his mate are hunted by German military through the mountains of Yugoslavia. In the third, an officer in a local village meets the eyes of a woman sentenced for execution. The questions of human conscience, agency, and action in the face of death are raised in compelling ways. With all three roles played by the legendary actor Velimir ‘Bata’ Živojinović, and the stories shot by master cinematographer Tomislav Pinter, Tri is a landmark of the New Yugoslav Film. A standout at Karlovy Vary and nominee at the Academy Awards, it remains a perfect introduction to Yugoslav cinema.

Mina Radović