Ljiljana Gener

In Collecting Courage, the second of six parts of his drama cycle Dialogues, screenwriter Ivo Stivicic dealt with the relationship of a young, unambitious and timid factory worker to the people around him, from girlfriends and work colleagues to hooligans from the cafe environment.

Fabris, a center-forward and the key player of the harbour town's football team, is a selfish individualist who is believed that he's irreplaceable in the first squad. He's also a womanizer who tries to seduce pretty Nena, a member of the working's committee and successful swimmer. However, she's emotionally close to Zdravko, who is, same like Fabris, a worthy center-forward himself.

Fed up with the harsh treatment his master has given him, a brave little mouse (and later his dog, Brewster) sets off on an adventure.

The story begins in a small rural village in Ladimirevci, Eastern Croatia in 1943, where a land owner Sima is helping the Partisan Movement and the official Ustasha regime in order to save the life of his son Beneš, who is enlisted in the German army. Sima doesn't want to let his son fight for the wrong side any more, and doesn't want to give him to the Partisans either, so he hides him in his attic for the time being. The story is interwoven with episodes of Sima trying to muster a beautiful stallion - Sokol - who only answers to his son Beneš and clearly doesn't like his old man.

After Stipe Zvonarov returned from the Austro-Hungarian army to his Slavic village, he found his wife Mara and mother. Women rightly expect Stipe to accept rural jobs, but he can no longer accept the monotony and restrictions of rural life.