It's hard to believe this fascinating and bleak Yugoslavian plea for peace ever got an American release, but apparently it did. Set in an unnamed country, the film features future director Anton Vrdoljak as John Johnson, an eternally hopeful young man whose wedding day is spoiled by the outbreak of war against another unnamed nation. Drafted into the military, John goes through basic training with his cousin Jack Jackson, his friend Louis, and a guy called Pete Peters. (The unimaginative English dubbing also has the temerity to include a character called Andy Anderson.)He soon finds himself locked in an air raid shelter, where a giant TV screen broadcasts an address from the nation's president in which he proudly announces the launching of nuclear weapons against the enemy. When the citizens of the shelter decide to march on the government in protest, our hero is arrested for treason. Shot amidst realistic smoldering wreckage, Atomic War Bride proudly wears its anti-war politics on its sleeve, not surprising considering the neutral stance taken by Marshall Tito during the Cold War. A fascinating and worthwhile curio.
Review of Atomic War Bride
