Powerful, brutal WW2 drama

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2018)

1943, German-occupied Belarus. A teenage boy, Florya, joins the partisans and expects a life of duty and adventure. Little prepares him for the terror and brutality he will witness.
Power, brutal WW2 drama. Shows the horror of war - certainly not your average glamour-and-glory WW2 movie. In particular, demonstrates well the atrocities the Germans, and the SS especially, inflicted on Russian civilians in WW2.
Not perfect though. Starts in haphazard style, with plot developments that sometimes don't make sense or seem random. Some of the acting can be a bit hammy at times too. However, from a point the movie finds its focus and from then on it is a relentless, gritty, tension-filled ride.