Blood and mud in Belorussia

Rating: 8/10 (14 May 2018)

A Soviet war drama thriller; A story set in Belarus about a boy hoping to defend his family during the Second World War.
This is an expressionist, graphic retelling of true events during 1943 when 628 villages and its inhabitants were destroyed by invading German forces. The film offers resiliance and dignity, and shows the endurance and anguish of war: a boy's lot in a man's war. There is some light relief too showing the camaraderie of the unfortunate beleagured souls.
As an aside, the director was on a mission to bring the terrible acts of inhumanity to light; he bluntly and angrily portrays the mania and brutality of the German SS and the genocidal attitudes of the German soldiers.