Painful to watch, yet definitely powerful.

Rating: 10/10 (14 June 2009)

This is a war movie unlike any other I have seen. What makes this movie different from other war movies that have been produced recently, is that this movie relies on its sheer power and message to move the viewer as opposed to blood, gore and explosions. This is not to say that the movie does not have any substantial explosions or scenes that would certainly keep you up at night, the scene that comes to mind for me is the burning barn scene. Yet the beauty and genius lies in the way the director Elem Klimov demonstrates restraint in what he shows his audience. By leaving certain things for the audience to make out for themselves, he makes this movie much more painful yet powerful.
During the Second World War, Flor, a young Byelorussian boy finds a buried gun from WWI near his village, which allows him to take part in the war. Against his mothers wishes, he leaves her and his two younger sisters to take part in what he thinks will be an amazing and enjoyable adventure. Yet in reality he is walking into a traumatizing experience that will forever change and age him both psychologically and physically.
We follow him throughout a series of painful experiences that would leave anybody scarred for the rest of their lives. Just observing all of the horrid things this poor young boy had to survive through made me cringe. Towards the end I felt so emotionally and mentaly drained that I found myself wishing that Flor would finally just be allowed to die so he would not have to suffer anymore. Overally an excellent film.