Lima

Incredibly psychologically depressing for its time, brutal in places, especially in the second half (I think it was the only Soviet film that was released in cinemas under the Bolshevik regime with the rating "No access to children under 18!"), an extremely impressive film from the time of the Nazi extermination campaign in the Soviet Union. A little boy's family is murdered and he joins the partisans. After the opening, somewhat drawn-out half-hour, Klimov begins to emotionally pummel the viewer with such vigour that it's borderline unbearable in places. During filming, a psychiatrist was constantly by the boy lead's side to make sure that the psychologically demanding filming did not take a toll on his mental health – without success, though. In terms of direction, it’s brilliant. There are two scenes I’ll never forget, the first is when the protagonist walks through his native village, which had been massacred by the Nazis a few days before. There are no naturalistic shots, only subtle, frightening hints, and a single glance through the camera, as if in passing, illuminates the horrific reality. And the second scene at the end, a scene that went down in film history: the slaughter of a Belarusian village by SS troops, and the burning of its inhabitants in a nearby barn. The ghetto-clearing scene in Spielberg's Schindler's List doesn’t come even close. It’s hard to describe, you have to see it. An unforgettable experience.

The best filmed indictment of the Stalinist regime I know. The director does not lead the viewer by the hand and by frequent use of symbols he forces the viewer to switch on their grey cortex. In its time, the formative years of perestroika, it was an absolute blast; bold and unprecedented.

A big war movie shown many times on TV during the communist years. Bondarčuk, the director, did a magnificent job in the lead role. I have to admit that after all these years, I don't remember the whole film, but at the time it was a great experience. I still remember the riveting scene when Bondarčuk, as a prisoner in a concentration camp, goes to the camp commander to beg for food and meet his certain death. He miraculously avoids it in the end, with the help of vodka, in a way I won't reveal, so as not to spoil it. But I doubt anyone will see it anyway, because Soviet films are not in vogue today, and very undeservedly so. Many of them are excellent, without any communist propaganda, and it’s a shame they don’t show them anymore.

The intention of screenwriter Zdeněk Svěrák to pay tribute to our airmen in the service of the RAF is very commendable. On the other hand, his calculated touches to the script are not very praiseworthy. "I'll put in the girl’s sad eyes, the Yanks will like that. A little sentimentality doesn't hurt either, they like to cry." When Jan Svěrák accepted the Oscar for Kolya, he promised to bring a little brother to the golden bald man. I'm sure he counted on it, but it didn't happen. In truth, he wouldn't have deserved it for Dark Blue World. He did devote five years of his life to it, an immeasurable effort, but the love story line plays too much on emotions and the scenes from the communist prisoner camp are not very convincing. Despite my reservations, I have to admit that the director made his money go very far. It is a paradox that the tribute to our airmen was not paid for by their native country, but that it was overwhelmingly financed by a company from the country the Czech airmen fought against.

From the point of view of today's audience, it is an incredibly naive and ridiculous story. But at the time it was written, when the Cold War was raging and America was steeped in the paranoid atmosphere of McCarthyism, War of the Worlds had its place. Many, influenced by the mood of the time, replaced the Martians with the communists and looked at it differently than we do today. From a historical point of view I give it three stars, from a cinematic one I wouldn't be so generous. But since I love the films of that era and have completely fallen for them lately, I'll upgrade my original three-star rating slightly :)

I give one point for the shot of the mating turtles, the rest is not worth talking about. Don't hit me, I'm a romantic too, but I have my limits.

A top Soviet agent in the rear of the Nazi enemy, or Captain Kloss the Russian way. It was good to watch, even though it was Leonid Brezhnev's favourite series :)

A young female member of the Red Army is pregnant and gives up her revolutionary ideals. A Jewish family gives her shelter and help. The final prophetic vision of the Holocaust is chilling. An artistically and substantively impressive work.

In a word, hopeless. There are lots of conversational moments that are supposed to be funny but aren't and miss the point. The film cost 140 million, but it doesn't show in the end result. As a pilot for a TV series I could still accept it, but as a sequel to the globally successful first one it's crap.

For the the first two thirds the film is fast-paced and Joan's reimaginings of her encounters with God are brilliantly stylized. Mila Jovovich proves that she is not a good actress and overacts a lot, in her rendering, Joan, rather than a pious girl, looks like a hysterical cow. Engaged to Besson at the time, the poor man probably had no option when choosing the lead role, otherwise Saint Joan would have probably given him a hard time at home. The battle scenes are handled decently, but the last third drags excruciatingly. Overall, a strong three stars.