Dawn Over the Drava (1974)

This is a two-part film about the participation of the Bulgarian army in the Second World War. On the eve of September 9, 1944, insurgent masses liberate a large group of political prisoners from jail in Varna. Boyan Vasilev, the central character, is one of them. The joy of liberation, however, is overshadowed for him by the fact that his wife has not waited for him. He is dispatched to the front line as a political officer. In tracing his personal fate the authors have created an epic picture about the participation of Bulgarian army in the last stages of war and the final defeat of Nazi Germany on the battlefields of Yugoslavia and Hungary. Against the background of the impressive battle scenes the film focuses on the complex relationships between the numerous characters, reflecting the social and political contradiction in Bulgaria in the end of the war, we see former career officers who are attempting to sabotage the work of military command. There are also honest military officers who are experiencing an excruciating change of views (since 1941 till 9.09.1944 Bulgaria was on the side of union between Germany, Italy and Japan) and remain true to their patriotic duty.