The bridge on the Drina

In Višegrad, a bridge connects the two banks of the Drina - but also Serbia and Bosnia, East and West - and concentrates since the XVIth century the life of the inhabitants : Christians, Jews, Muslims of Turkey or “islmaized”. There, people talk, fight, play cards, listen to the speeches of the successive Masters of the country, Ottomans then Austro-Hungarian. This four centuries chronicle was written by Yugoslav novelist Ivo Andrić, Nobel Prize of literature in 1961 ; it mixes legend with history, fun with horror, and gives life back to thousand and one characters.

Among the other projects, Emir Kusturica has thought of making an adaptation of this novel. It should have been - according to his interviews at that time - the biggest yugoslav film of all times. But today, the project seems to be definitively given up.
In an interview given to French newspaper Le Monde in 1993, we could read :

• What about making a new film in Europe ?
  • EK : It's a political question. I want to remain a european cineast, who makes films everywhere. I feel myself like a bridge maker, who creates links between different places. I had this project, A bridge over the Drina, the masterpiece of our literature, written by Ivo Andrić, our Nobel Prize of 1961. If our leaders had read it, there would have been no war.

Later, in another interview given to French newspaper l'Humanité in 2005, we could read :

• What about the possible adaptation of The bridge on the Drina, by Ivo Andrić, for the cinema ?
  • EK : I'll never do it. It's impossible… Well, I mean, it's difficult, and I don't think it's the moment to make a film with such a structure. It's too big ! It's quite possible that nothing is less sure !

This book was translated in many languages :

• English translation Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Amazon.fr
• French translation Amazon.fr,
• Norwegian translation Amazon.fr
• German translation Amazon.de, Amazon.fr
• Spanish translation Amazon.fr, Amazon.com
• Italian translation Amazon.com