Beautiful but rather flawed

Rating: 7/10 (6 January 2009)

From a visual point of view, this was beautiful to watch, thanks to the Lithuanian locations, sets, actors and wardrobe. The life experience of the main characters was depicted in a dark yet still somewhat sanitized way, and I think the film was fairly success in that respect with regards to immersing the viewer in this (allegedly true) story which beggars belief at times.
However, there were some misguided attempts at light relief which fell flat, and as with most war-set stories the opposing sides were depicted as far too black and white, with the Germans portrayed as brutal, faceless killing machines. If you can overlook that simplistic bias and a few other flaws, it's a very enjoyable film.