Thoughts on the film

Rating: 10/10 (4 June 2012)

This was by far the most raunchy and gruesome WWII film I have ever seen. It was a fantastic microcosm of the events that took place during the Nazi's rise of terror in eastern Europe. The film depicted WWII as if it were a documentary following Russian resistance but with beautiful cinematography and direction. Emotionally the film left me stunned to the point of apathy when I finished watching it. It was a two and half hour visual and auditory assault to my eyes and ears. Despite its brutal honest depiction of the war I enjoyed the fact that this film was able to invoke this kind of emotional response on me, which I feel is very rare in films today. I also loved Flyoras transformation from a ignorant eager child into a scarred soul with the will to still keep on fighting for he's people, even after all the horror he experienced throughout the film. Flyoras story exemplifies the resilience of the Russian people to fight against the Nazi's in a very personal way that affect the audience tremendously.