The Second Front (2005)

Just perfect...

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

The first thing you must do if you want to enjoy this movie is convince yourself that the notion that Nazi Germany would go to any lengths to capture and utilize a Jew for his intelligence is not utterly preposterous. If you are able to convince yourself of that, and you haven't seen movies like Enigma which would allow you to see through the thin plot, then you might enjoy this film. What the film makers failed to understand is basic Nazi ideology and doctrine, which shaped Germany's policies from 1933 to early 1945. Nazi ideology would not permit the belief that a Jew could be more intelligent than Aryan scientists, nor that a Jew could be an asset to the purposes of the Reich. I have to say that I had high hopes for this one when I ran across it at Hollywood Video, but I was thoroughly disappointed.

Rented this one (thank God!). Right from the start I could tell I was in for an extremely dull picture. The opening narration must have used the word It about 10 times. They were so close to IT. IT was almost solved. He had the formula needed to solve IT. etc... Then you see a bunch of fat guys dressed up in trench-coats. Nobody cares that the whole set is consisting of spies obviously up to no good. Consistency is lacking in the film as the main character is wounded and later on in the film there isn't a mark on him where he was shot before. The mouth/sounds do not match up 80% of the time. The aircraft used in the film (a Beriev Be-12 Chaika 'Mail') wasn't even developed during the movies time set (1942) it was created in the 1960's (yet they used it during this film set in 1942? Who did research on this pic?) The plot is confusing and extremely poor in construction. Extremely low budget film. One has to wonder why people even bother wasting money for such disgusting wastes of film, money, time and effort (even though this film had about 0 effort expended on it). The acting is poor and the plane shots are positively dreadful. DO NOT BUY! DO NOT RENT!

I actually quite enjoyed this. It's certainly better than many other films of it's genre.Certainly, it wasn't as bad as many films I have seen recently. While the plot was a little sketchy at times the performances were above average. It was a pleasure to see Todd Field in a non directorial role. I would actually recommend it. It was also good to see Ukraine being used as a film location. Ukraine once had a fine studio in Kiev and in the Crimea and it would be nice to see it resurrected.Dimitry Fiks, the film's director, has since gone on to great success in Russia directing their version of Sex in the City. I wouldn't say race out and buy it but I also wouldn't mind watching it again.

I'm struggling to see if there is any justification to having spent the money to rent and watch this. I can't find any unless it's to stop others from falling victim as I did. Be forewarned. I can't believe Ron Perlman has sunk this low. I wish IMDb didn't have the ten line minimum, because now I'm spending even more time trying to warn you, dear reader, not to do what I have done. As I look back on my life, I'll remember with regret the evening I wasted on this film. If, by these words, I can help one person -- just one person -- avoid this experience, I'll earn some atonement and find peace. Perhaps I can convince Blockbuster to return my money or even pay me compensation, but I can't get back my time.