One stunning tribute..

Rating: 9/10 (13 December 2006)

What a stunning film.. Brutal, ever so realistic, a long painful glance through the eyes of the casualties and victims of the Third Reich's evil, ultimately naive inhumane campaign of annihilation in the East. To witness a boy age visibly and lose his innocence and mind faced with such madness, hysteria and desperation was disturbing and touching and forged an empathy with the protagonist from start to end. A tribute to the true warriors and brave partisans who opposed the onslaught of the delusional evil nation, once you savour this highly underrated masterpiece, you won't want to ever waste your time again with all the omnipresent, mainstream "glammed up" surreal cinematic fodder. This is right up there, nestled amongst my top 10 films of all time..superb.