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Dara of Jasenovac (2020) movie poster

Plot Summary

Dara of Jasenovac (2020) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
2020 · 130 mins · Serbian
Echo score 78
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Directed by
Predrag Antonijević
Starring
Petar Zekavica, Vuk Kostić, Marko Janketić, Andrea Forca, Goran Jokić, Jovo Maksić
Budget
$3.6M

During the Nazi-occupied Ustasha regime in Yugoslavia during World War II, a young girl named Dara is deported to the Jasenovac concentration camp complex in Croatia. Often referred to as "Balkan's Auschwitz," Jasenovac was a network of camps known for its brutal conditions and systematic persecution of Serbs, Jews, Roma, and other groups. The film portrays Dara's experiences within this horrific environment and the struggle for survival amidst unimaginable cruelty.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 What happens: full plot
  3. 3 Plot questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Dara of Jasenovac
  6. 6 Every angle
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Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in Dara of Jasenovac: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of Dara of Jasenovac (2020) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

After the Axis-led Kozara Offensive, the film follows how the local Serb population is thrust into concentration camps run by the Ustaše and Nazi Germany within the Independent State of Croatia. Families are marched toward cattle cars, and a ten-year-old Dara Ilić travels with her older brother Jovo Ilić, wondering why others who look the same are being rounded up as well. A woman in the line carries her crying baby and shares a brief, almost unspoken glance with a young Croatian peasant woman tending the fields, prompting a quiet act of mercy as she leaves the baby with her before returning to the column.

At a train station fluttering with the Nazi flag, Father Miroslav Filipović separates the sick and elderly from the rest, who are forced into the cattle cars. Dara watches in horror as those left behind are shot and killed by Filipović. With no information about her father’s whereabouts, the train carries Dara, her mother, and two brothers to the Jasenovac concentration camp, while, in an undisclosed location nearby, Dara’s father Mile Ilić is tasked with removing and disposing of dead bodies.

That night at the camp, guards devise a brutal game of musical chairs as entertainment for visiting German officers. Each prisoner who loses a round has their throat slashed with a srbosjek or is bludgeoned by a hammer, a cruelty Dara witnesses firsthand. As families are torn apart, Dara’s mother struggles and refuses to surrender her older son, and both are shot and killed by Ante Vrban.

Dara is left to look after her younger brother as they are sent to a special camp for women and children. She makes it her personal mission to ensure his survival, even in the face of overwhelming danger. With the help of a Jewish prisoner, Blankica, Dara begins to plot a path to escape, drawing on courage and a stubborn will to endure in a place where hope is scarce and every breath could be the difference between life and death.

Last updated: March 05, 2026 at 18:39

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Plot questions answered

Dara of Jasenovac Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about Dara of Jasenovac (2020): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why were Serbian families being rounded up in the film?

The roundup occurs after the Kozara Offensive, when Axis forces conquered the Kozara region in the Independent State of Croatia. The Ustaše regime targeted Serbs for deportation to concentration camps as part of systematic persecution, alongside Jews, Roma, and other groups. Dara's confusion in the film reflects how victims struggled to understand why they were being targeted despite looking identical to their persecutors.

  • serbs
  • ustaše
  • deportation
  • kozara
  • concentration camps
  • yugoslavia
Q2

What happens at the train station with Father Miroslav Filipović?

At the train station adorned with Nazi flags, Ustaše priest Father Miroslav Filipović conducts a brutal selection process. He separates the sick and elderly from those fit for transport. Those deemed unfit are left behind and shot dead by Filipović himself, while Dara and the rest are loaded into cattle cars bound for Jasenovac.

  • filipović
  • selection
  • train station
  • shooting
  • ustaše priest
Q3

Why does Dara's mother refuse to give up her older son and what happens?

When Ustaše guard Ante Vrban orders families to surrender their children for separation, Dara's mother refuses to hand over her older son Jovo. In response, Vrban shoots both her and Jovo dead on the spot. This demonstrates the immediate and ruthless consequences of non-compliance, as well as the deliberate strategy of family destruction used by the camp guards.

  • mother
  • son
  • refuse
  • vrban
  • shooting
  • family separation
Q4

What is the musical chairs game at Jasenovac camp?

The guards organize a macabre version of musical chairs for visiting German officers. Prisoners circle around chairs while music plays; when it stops, anyone left without a seat is killed, either having their throat slashed with a srbosjek (a specialized Serbian-slaughtering knife) or being bludgeoned with a hammer. Dara witnesses this horror, which exemplifies the torture and entertainment rituals imposed on prisoners.

  • musical chairs
  • srbosjek
  • murder
  • camp guards
  • German officers
  • torture
Q5

Why does the woman leave her baby with the Croatian peasant woman during the march?

A desperate mother carrying her crying baby notices a young Croatian peasant woman working in the fields alongside the marching column. Recognizing she cannot protect her child through what lies ahead, the mother makes the agonizing choice to leave the baby with the peasant woman before returning to the column of prisoners. This quiet act of mercy gives the child a chance at survival outside the camp.

  • baby
  • mercy
  • peasant woman
  • march
  • survival
  • act of kindness
Q6

What is Dara's father Mile doing at the concentration camp?

While Dara and her family are transported to Jasenovac, her father Mile Ilić is taken to a separate location within the camp complex. He is forced to work as a forced laborer tasked with removing and disposing of dead bodies. This cruel twist separates the family and forces Mile into the macabre work of handling the dead, though he remains alive elsewhere in the camp system.

  • mile
  • father
  • bodies
  • forced labor
  • disposal
  • working
Q7

Who is Blankica and how does she help Dara?

Blankica is a Jewish prisoner already held in the women's and children's section of Jasenovac. She becomes Dara's ally and helps her devise an escape plan. Despite the camp's brutal conditions, Blankica maintains the will to resist and plots a path toward freedom, showing how prisoners formed bonds across backgrounds to survive.

  • blankica
  • jewish
  • escape
  • prisoner
  • plan
  • resistance
  • hope
Q8

What is a srbosjek and how is it used in the film?

A srbosjek is a large, curved knife traditionally used for slaughtering livestock. In Jasenovac, the guards weaponize this tool against prisoners during the musical chairs game, slashing the throats of those who lose. The use of this particular knife carries symbolic weight, as its name combines "Serb" and "to slaughter", reflecting the刀具 genocide being carried out.

  • srbosjek
  • knife
  • weapon
  • throat slitting
  • musical chairs
Q9

Who is Ante Vrban and what role does he play at Jasenovac?

Ante Vrban is a Ustaše guard at Jasenovac who directly carries out executions. He is the one who shoots Dara's mother and older brother when she refuses to surrender the boy during the family separation process. Vrban represents the enforcers who implemented the camp's policy of breaking families and committing immediate violence against those who resisted.

  • ante vrban
  • guard
  • ustaše
  • shooting
  • execution
  • family separation
Q10

What happens to Dara and her younger brother at the women's camp?

After losing her mother and older brother, Dara is sent to a special section of Jasenovac for women and children, where she becomes the sole guardian of her younger brother. She makes his survival her personal mission, learning to navigate the camp's dangers while drawing on courage she didn't know she possessed. The section represents the particularly vulnerable position of children in the camp system.

  • women camp
  • children camp
  • brother
  • survival
  • protection
  • dara

Movie threads

More Movies Like Dara of Jasenovac, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Dara of Jasenovac tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies about a child's perspective in war like Dara of Jasenovac

Stories of innocence shattered by the brutal realities of war and genocide. If you were moved by the harrowing journey of Dara, explore other films that depict war and genocide through a child's eyes. These movies share a similar heavy emotional weight, focusing on loss of innocence and the struggle for survival amidst historical atrocities, offering a deeply personal view of large-scale tragedies.

  • loss of innocence
  • somber
  • harrowing
  • grief-stricken
  • survival-focused
  • historical tragedy
  • Tone: dark, somber, tragic
  • Pacing: steady, observational
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives typically follow a young protagonist thrust into a horrific historical event they cannot fully comprehend. The story unfolds as a series of sensory and emotional impressions, focusing on survival, the loss of family, and the erosion of childhood by forces beyond their control. The plot is often straightforward, driven by the child's immediate experiences rather than complex political machinations.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here because they share the specific narrative device of a child's perspective to convey the human cost of war. This creates a consistent tone of profound sadness and a uniquely visceral sense of tragedy, making vast historical events feel intimate and personally devastating.

Grim survival horror dramas like Dara of Jasenovac

Grim stories of endurance against systematic, overwhelming cruelty. For viewers seeking movies with the same oppressive and brutal tone as Dara of Jasenovac, this list features stories of extreme survival. These films share a high intensity and dark tone, exploring the limits of human endurance in concentration camps, prisons, and other horrific settings where characters face systematic persecution.

  • oppressive
  • brutal
  • desperate
  • harrowing
  • survival-focused
  • unflinching
  • Tone: dark, oppressive, harrowing
  • Pacing: steady, relentless
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern is one of relentless adversity. Characters are subjected to a sequence of horrific events with little to no reprieve. The plot is a straightforward chronicle of suffering and the minute-by-minute struggle to persist. There is no traditional hero's journey, only the raw, uncompromising will to live another day in the face of unimaginable evil.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their shared commitment to an unflinching, dark tone and high intensity. They create a cohesive viewing experience defined by feelings of oppression, desperation, and a harrowing focus on the physical and emotional cost of survival against impossible odds.

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Every angle

Dara of Jasenovac (2020) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Dara of Jasenovac in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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