World War II has been one of the most common subjects in cinema for the past seven decades. Practically every country involved in that six-year conflict has made movies about it, including Russia. One example is Aleksey Uchitel's "Kray" ("The Edge" in English), Russia's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.
Most of the movie is set in the aftermath of WWII, in a Siberian camp for Soviet troops who had been POWs in Germany, now sent to the camp for "re-education". One of the people there is war hero Ignat, who had wrecked a train. But when he ventures out on a hunch, Ignat finds what could be a new path in life...even if it angers the commissar.
To me, the trains represent the struggles that the people in the Soviet Union had endured under Nazi occupation, but also the understanding that the way forward was not going to be an easy task. While the movie doesn't have the intellectual profundity of some Russian movies that I've seen, it does make clear that mere suspicion of collaboration with the Germans could have dire consequences. It's not a masterpiece, but I like how it develops the characters, especially Elsa.
Other Russian movies about WWII that I recommend are "The Cranes Are Flying", "Cuckoo" and "Our Own".
Most of the movie is set in the aftermath of WWII, in a Siberian camp for Soviet troops who had been POWs in Germany, now sent to the camp for "re-education". One of the people there is war hero Ignat, who had wrecked a train. But when he ventures out on a hunch, Ignat finds what could be a new path in life...even if it angers the commissar.
To me, the trains represent the struggles that the people in the Soviet Union had endured under Nazi occupation, but also the understanding that the way forward was not going to be an easy task. While the movie doesn't have the intellectual profundity of some Russian movies that I've seen, it does make clear that mere suspicion of collaboration with the Germans could have dire consequences. It's not a masterpiece, but I like how it develops the characters, especially Elsa.
Other Russian movies about WWII that I recommend are "The Cranes Are Flying", "Cuckoo" and "Our Own".