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Even into the 1960s, Yugoslavian films played up the contributions of their partisan underground during World War II. Square of Violence is a loose, unacknowledged reworking of the 1943 film Hostages. When partisans kill 30 Nazi officers in a bombing, the Germans respond by taking 300 Yugoslav hostages. Broderick Crawford, the man responsible for the bombing, must weigh the importance of keeping the identities of his comrades secret against the lives of the 300 captives. This is the directorial debut of Leonardo Bercovici.