Left me speechless

Rating: 8/10 (5 June 2012)

A glance into the underbelly of the Nazi regime during World War II, this is not your typical war movie. It plays on your psychology and bring the forefront what really happened when the Nazi's invaded Eastern Europe. The overall struggle of the Byaloorussian people and their will to survive is an amazing story.
I think this is one of the few films that literally kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The direction is amazing and the acting, especially from Florya, was even better. There is not a single moment that I did not feel like I was a part of this story. Klimov keeps you in tune with mindset of a teenage soldier, who seems to age decades by the end of it. Understandably so after seeing his family and multiple villages destroyed, along with the genocide that we experience.
The score of the film keeps you psychologically involved at all times. The symbolism of the airplane flying over head throughout the movie, puts the same fear in your mind as it does the main characters.