Rating: 
Summary: Differentially Soviet
Review: Though little time is spent detailing the front line, World War II is present in the forefront of every scene in "Ballada o Soldate." Why, then, are only two deaths witnessed through the course of this film: that of a Russian soldier who gives up his position and that of a beautiful woman killed by Germans? Why, one might also ask, do the characters, even those in most impoverished conditions, remain as a unit brotherly and optimistic?This story, stripped to its bare-bones plot line, might indicate some very different feelings to someone unfamiliar with "Ballada o Soldate." Private Alyosha Skvortsov, while fighting on the front, has just endured a stroke of luck that both saves his life and destroys two enemy tanks. In reward for his accomplishments, he is given the privilege to take a six-day leave of absence to visit his mother in his hometown. After a long series of detours, he reaches home with only enough time to hug her, say some kind words, and rush back to the front. During this time he has met and fallen in love with a young and equally innocent girl. Then he is killed. Does this sound like a happy story to you? When I first viewed this film, I anticipated one of a thousand things that would go wrong from the moment Alyosha left on his journey. The longer it took for the hammer to fall, it seemed the harder such a blow must be to such an unrealistic boy - for Alyosha is truly depicted as innocent as a child. This is a punch I was amazed to find was never dealt. This is the difference that makes "Ballada o Soldate" an important film today. Faced with numerous gruesome depictions of war in story and in film, "War Is Hell" seems to be the popular slogan in the 21st century American mind. This was obviously not the case in the Soviet Union, when this movie was first released. While "Ballada o Soldate" remains fairly realistic in scene depiction, character reactions to such hardships are unfalteringly positive. Even at the end, when the audience - and perhaps the private himself - knows that Alyosha is returning to his death does the mood remain brave and patriotic. Propagandistic, maybe, but "Ballada o Soldate" insists war is not Hell; war is a duty.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful movie
Review: This story, taking place in the times of WWII raging in Russia, is a wonderful romantic story of a young soldier awarded short leave to go home. On his eventful trip home he meets different people and falls in love with a young girl. It depicts true characters, true, innocent feelings of two young people falling in love in the war-torn country. I have the right to say this because my knowledge is based not on propaganda wars, but because I know my grandparents and I know what they fought for. A paradox of the soviet times (Stalin times, in this case) is that in order to fight and defeat probably the most inhuman, fiercest enemy in the history of mankind the Russian Soldier had to free his soul of all the ideological buildup. The nation was facing elimination. Stalin, communism were not relevant anymore - you cannot win with this luggage. In those circumstances a soldier could win only if he was fighting for true values. The Russian soldier fought for his country, his home, being devastated and destroyed, for his love, for his dear and beloved ones who were being killed by the Nazis. This war has always been referred to as Great Patriotic, Sacred War among Russian people, not WWII. My grandfathers fought for my grandmothers, for my mother and father, for my land, my country, my childhood, - fought and drove the Nazi animals back into their hole. I am proud of my grandparents who, despite all the horrors they had to live through, found unbelievable strength, courage, and spirit to save kindness and the light of love in their hearts, pass it to my mother and father to give me a happy childhood. I wouldn't have started writing this review if some of the remarks, being rather marginal to offensive statements than simply an ignorant, blatant lie, hadn't made me sick. And if it did not concern my grandparents. One of the results of the Cold-War-time propaganda - some people now deny the very natural human feelings and impulses in people of Russia and declare them a lie, should they seem to be beautiful. "...emotions you're feeling aren't genuine - they're delivered, from Russia, without love" - a rather fascistic remark than just ignorant. Complaints about bad transportation and 'delays with the service' in the war-worn country are merely stupid. "There he meets a girl (Shura), whom, if circumstances were different, he might persue. But this is the Soviet Union, and many dreams could never be realized for that very reason." The iterpretation of the story is amazing. The passage makes me wonder whose propaganda was more successful in rolling minds into a plain board. This dream did not come true because of the war, not because "this is the Soviet Union". If this movie can be considered a propagandistic work at all, then only the anti-war kind of it. This movie is a small tribute of gratitude to and respect for the memory of the generation of my grandparents. It is delivered from Russia. With True Love. Depicting True Feelings of True Characters.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: As time goes on, I keep returning to films that exquisitely portray the human condition: films like "The Bicycle Thief," "Forbidden Games," "The Official Story," "Boy," and "Ballad of a Soldier," to name a few. When I first saw "Ballad of a Soldier," I also had under my belt many of the masterpieces of the new wave films from Europe and Asia in the 50s and early 60s. This brilliant film and "The Cranes Are Flying" put another face on the Cold War for me. Most in the West think the United States and allies "won" WWII. Nothing could be further from the truth. Germany invaded Russia on June 22, 1941, and proceeded to destroy their country and over 28 million Russian citizens and soldiers. The battles on the Eastern Front were of such breadth and scope that no comparison is possible in history. For example, in the famous 1943 battle of Kursk (remember the Russian sub?), up to 6,000 total tanks battled over a 200-mile front that resulted in a million deaths. This adventure took about 10 days. Stalingrad alone was the beginning of the end for the Germans, resulting in 160,000 dead and 500,000 taken prisoner. The savagery there was literally unspeakable and horrible, and the losses by the Russians were horrendous. Behind the Russians was the butcher Stalin, and in front of them were the Germans, yet in spite of these evils, the Russian people rose up with an incredible sense of protecting their motherland. When the war in the East was over in 1945, the Red Army had destroyed, disabled, or captured 607 German and Axis divisions; Americans and allies, from Africa to Berlin, destroyed a total of 167 enemy divisions. Their total deaths numbered around 8 million. Total American deaths in Europe numbered around 300,000. I mention these facts to belie the notion that most reviewers seem apologetic that this film contained " soviet propaganda," as if that were a discrediting thing. From the Russian point of view, they won the war, and the numbers easily prove it. The Americans invaded Western Europe and courageously fought into Germany. But, without their airpower and bombing of German civilians into the Stone Age, or without the decimation caused by the Russians of 2/3s of German ground forces, D-Day would have been a disaster. This is the background for this film, and its utter faithfulness to any Russian's basic sense of themselves, their country, and their culture rings true throughout. Not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: A Russian Classic
Review: Alesha, the protagonist of this classic Russian film, is a good-hearted peasant boy fighting for his family and homeland. When he becomes an accidental hero, he is rewarded by leavetime, which he hopes to spend at his mother's home in a distant village. On his train journey through the wartorn Soviet countryside, he meets and falls in love with a young woman. Through a series of misadventures and delays, Alesha arrives home with little time to visit with his mother. Duty calls, and he must return to the front. This movie is both touching and tragic, and is beloved by Russian people, too many of whom lost sons, daughters, spouses and sweethearts during the Great Patriotic War. How many mothers, like Alesha's, waited and watched toward the west for a soldier who never returned? "Ballad of a Soldier" is a tribute to those lost loved ones who remain in their survivor's memories forever youthful, handsome, innocent, and noble. To deny Soviet citizens this human emotion by relegating the film to mere "propaganda" is cynical and saddening.
Rating:
Summary: My all-time favorite movie.
Review: Movies don't get any better than this one. A young Russian soldier (Alyosha) almost accidentally becomes a hero. To reward him, the General gives him a 4 day leave so he go home to repair his mother's roof before rainy season. The movie is about his eventful trip home. You see the horrors of war in the people Alyosha meets on his trip home. The war itself is never far away-you can hear the steady roar of cannon throughout. This is also one of the most beautiful love stories you will ever see. One of the people he meets on his trip home is a beautiful young girl named Shura. The scene on the train with the vast birch forest passing by in the background is the single most beautiful love scene ever filmed. No nudity, no sex. You long for the two to kiss to consumate their love. This is not so much an anti-war film as a film about the great human tragedy that results from war. (I'm not sure, but I think there is a difference.) Be sure to get the sub-titled version of the movie. I've seen both dubbed and sub-titled and the sub-titled is far superior. I can't recommend this movie high enough. This, along with Fiddler on the Roof and The Wind and the Lion, are my all-time favorites and I wouldn't want to try to pick a favorite amongst the three. But if I did, I think Ballad of a Soldier would get the nod. By the way, you WILL cry! I remember seeing it at a movie theater in Cambridge Mass. in the mid-seventies. Several people leaving at the end of the movie were visibly crying while proclaiming that they never cry at movies. Mike Porter
Rating:
Summary: Differentially Soviet
Review: Though little time is spent detailing the front line, World War II is present in the forefront of every scene in "Ballada o Soldate." Why, then, are only two deaths witnessed through the course of this film: that of a Russian soldier who gives up his position and that of a beautiful woman killed by Germans? Why, one might also ask, do the characters, even those in most impoverished conditions, remain as a unit brotherly and optimistic? This story, stripped to its bare-bones plot line, might indicate some very different feelings to someone unfamiliar with "Ballada o Soldate." Private Alyosha Skvortsov, while fighting on the front, has just endured a stroke of luck that both saves his life and destroys two enemy tanks. In reward for his accomplishments, he is given the privilege to take a six-day leave of absence to visit his mother in his hometown. After a long series of detours, he reaches home with only enough time to hug her, say some kind words, and rush back to the front. During this time he has met and fallen in love with a young and equally innocent girl. Then he is killed. Does this sound like a happy story to you? When I first viewed this film, I anticipated one of a thousand things that would go wrong from the moment Alyosha left on his journey. The longer it took for the hammer to fall, it seemed the harder such a blow must be to such an unrealistic boy - for Alyosha is truly depicted as innocent as a child. This is a punch I was amazed to find was never dealt. This is the difference that makes "Ballada o Soldate" an important film today. Faced with numerous gruesome depictions of war in story and in film, "War Is Hell" seems to be the popular slogan in the 21st century American mind. This was obviously not the case in the Soviet Union, when this movie was first released. While "Ballada o Soldate" remains fairly realistic in scene depiction, character reactions to such hardships are unfalteringly positive. Even at the end, when the audience - and perhaps the private himself - knows that Alyosha is returning to his death does the mood remain brave and patriotic. Propagandistic, maybe, but "Ballada o Soldate" insists war is not Hell; war is a duty.
Rating:
Summary: Setbacks, tension and just plain human feelings. Wonderful!
Review: When this Russian film was made in 1959, it was the middle of the Cold War. American audiences certainly didn't see it. If we had, it would have softened our impressions of Russians, who were always depicted as cruel monsters whose only desire was to bury America. And yet, WW2 was devastating for them as it was fought on their soil and so many died. "Ballad of a Soldier" is the story of one such soldier. We first meet 19-year old Alyosha as he is cowering in a foxhole on the front. We can identify with his fear at the German tanks that are advancing. He runs to a machine gun and shoots at the tanks. To his surprise, he hits a tank and destroys it. He keeps shooting and manages to destroy a second tank. All of a sudden he's a hero and his commanding officer wants to give him a medal. "Please, sir" he begs. "Instead of a medal, please give me one day's leave to see my mother." The hard-hearted officer is touched, and gives the young man a six-day pass. It would be a two-day trip each way even at the best of times. But now it is wartime. And it's a difficult journey. Along the way we meets a one-legged soldier who's reluctant to face life, a lovely young woman who Alyosha begins to love, an unfaithful wife who he shames, and old man who he gives hope. He has to bribe his way into a train. And is traveling on another train when a bridge is destroyed. But he is determined to make it to his village to see his mother, even if it is just to give her one big hug before he has to return to the front. It's a wonderful story, full of setbacks and tension and just plain human feelings. Filmed it black and white, and a mere 89 minutes long, it contains images of Russia that Americans rarely see. The countryside is devastated, but yet there's a spirit of a hearty people full of grit and determination to survive. It's a sad story too, and bittersweet. By the end of the film I was sobbing out loud. This is a fine film. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for any collection, a must see for everyone
Review: The details of the story have been covered well in other reviews, so I'll pass on that aspect. This DVD is flawlessly rendered. Every outlet should apply the same standards to their work as did Criterion in this release. The result is a crisp, detailed, CLEAN, B&W video and soundtrack that looks right at home on the best of the current crop of high end Entertainment centers. The story is neither pacifist (like "All quiet"), or gung-ho die for the motherland in it's application. It focuses more on the human side of the call to arms than any film I have ever viewed. Faced with the knowlege that Hitler was exterminating their fellow countrymen in order to provide "living space" for the future Reich, many millions of Russians answered the call to defend their existence. Many millions died before the war was over. Despite it's soviet origin, this film does a wonderful job of singling out just one individual, following his life through the ordeal of war, and giving us a glimpse of the true cost of the sacrifice made by the masses of young soldiers who have died defending their homelands around the globe. The dialog is outstanding. The subtitles are remarkably good, and in general, the film will make you laugh, cry, and pretty much stay focused on the screen until the you have watched everything offered on the DVD. Get this movie, you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: amazing film!!!
Review: After waiting for over one hour in line, finally I got a seat just in front of the huge screen. 1960 in Argentina. I was 16 at that time and the beauty, poetry and the incredible use of the camera by Ivashov will remain in my memory and soul forever. I know this because I watched the movie days ago again in the Sundance Channel and I just couldn't stop crying in front of my kids. I hope one day they will have the chance to watch something like this movie and also keep it in their hearts for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: A memorable classic--deserves to be better-known
Review: I am amazed that most people have never heard of nor seen this wonderful movie. To me it is, quite simply, one of the best movies ever made. I saw it as a youngster when it first came out, at the height of Cold War, in what I think was the first subtitled movie I ever saw. The experience of seeing this movie was almost overwhelming, from the initial scene involving the tank to the powerful ending. It made me realize the universality of humanity and love, even though I couldn't have verbalized it that way at the time. I saw the film again about ten years later, and again many years later, and each time it held up. As with most classics, this film only deepens with repeated viewings.
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