History, as the adage goes, is written by the victors. Yet cinema—particularly war cinema—has a peculiar habit of rewriting that history in ways both subtle and profound, reshaping narratives to suit the sensibilities of different eras and audiences. Few films exemplify this phenomenon as vividly as *Walter Defends Sarajevo* (1972), directed by Hajrudin Krvavac, a titan of the Yugoslav Partisan film genre. Initially…







