In August of 1944 (2001)
The movie is set in Belarus, where a team of counter-intelligence officers is given only three days to find a German radio operator posing as a Soviet soldier, behind soviet lines, on the eve of a major offensive.
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Waste of time
Great Film overall
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Being a Russian, which means that I was raised on epic WWII movies a lot of which I came to simply love for many reasons besides great acting and plot, I have to admit that this one became my favorite.As you must have read from other comments, this movie has nothing to do with what most people expect from war movie: no propaganda, no superheros, no battle scenes. In fact the war makes just an environmental case here. The movie is all about characters and the plot that keeps you tense to the end. IMO these factors make it a fairly international movie.
This is one of the best modern war films I have ever seen. Surprisingly, it was made in 2001, which wasn't the best time to make films related to World War II. The actors were brilliant, especially during the standoff scene when the spies and the soldiers "bumped" into each other in the forest. I believe this film correctly portrays the events of WW2 and the actions of soldiers from the red army's special forces.The events of that war made everyone do extraordinary things which now may seem as unlikely, but people have to remember that it wasn't just about winning, but survival.
Pros:This movie does not force a bunch of cheesy propaganda down your throat. No banner waving so typical for American flicks, no bad Germans and good Russians so typical for Soviet war movies. In fact, there are no Germans in it! All you see a bunch of SMERSH guys doing their job, and doing it well. Technically, the movie is very accurate. Uniforms, weapons, vehicles... all top notch. Very nice locations, settings, camera work and editing.Cons:The story lacks action and any kind of suspense. Which would be almost OK if it was 40 minutes shorter. I wish the director had better script to work with.The verdict: An average Soviet (in this case, post-Soviet) war flick, decently shot and acted but pretty boring.The rating: 5/10.Go see Das Boot if you want a really striking non-Hollywood WWII movie.
This is one of the best war movies I have ever seen. Forget Private Ryan, forget G.I. Jane, forget Platoon or Born of 4th of July. These Belarusians have made a brilliant thriller, with perfect cinematography, fine acting and almost perfect editing. And, which is very important, there is no any propaganda here. This is not "Germans-are-so-bad, the-others-so good" kind of movie.It is simply good entertainment - one of the same kind as "U-571", for example.