The Brutally Honest Definition of Terror.

Rating: 10/10 (28 July 2016)

This is one film that truly understands the horrors and devastation of war. There's no sugar- coating here. It follows a young boy as he joins the Soviet Army and their efforts against the Nazis during WWII. The young boy, Florya Gaishun (played magnificently and masterfully by Aleksey Kravchenko at the age of 14 during filming), is the film's main focus, as his mentality slowly unravels the more he comes into contact with the grotesqueries of WWII. The representation of such grotesqueries is brutally honest, as his young Florya's reaction and acceptance of such horrors. The performance, for such a young actor, is mature and terrifying - it's disturbing how effectively young Aleksey managed to react as he did for this film.
The film does not allow for any sense of equilibrium; tension is constantly building and this is frequently due to the film's use of sound design. It's disturbing and unsettling, from the realistic sound of high-pitched drones and muffled dialogue during the aftermath of mortar, to the horrifying swelling and progression of droning sound that builds to a disturbing crescendo at certain scenes, an example of such a scene being Florya's discovery of what happened to the village he once resided in.
Throughout the film, the atmosphere of desperation and the aspect of survival managed to keep myself glued to the edge of my seat - every moment feels like it could be Florya's last. The efforts of the director, Elem Klimov, is admirable - his intention for the film was to be as realistic as possible, and he achieves this. The film is powerful: the events are dreadful yet engaging; the performances are genuine and brutally honest; the effects are not simple effects (the ammunition used in the film is genuine and can be seen chipping away at the trees in some scenes). If you have the chance of viewing this film, take it - it's breathtaking and bound to leave the viewer scarred.