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war films.
There isn't a lot of battle action. There isn't a lot of the Hollywood type of bravery with heroes mowing down platoons of the enemy while somehow remaining invulnerable to bullets and grenades.
Rather, the film takes a scalpel to human emotion as few other films have. Courage, loyalty, cowardice, and betrayal are examined more thoroughly than in any other film with which I'm familiar. Being a Russian film, there is, of course, a mystical lens through which this all is seen.
How does an entire nation condone mass murder? How do "regular" fellows, after a few weeks of training, eagerly go off to kill and maim--- or to suffer the same?
These mysteries may not be answered in this film, but they are examined with unflinching candor.
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