In 1943, two Byelorussian boys dig in a sand field looking for abandoned rifles in order to join the Soviet partisan forces. One of the boys, Florya, finds an SVT-40 rifle, and the next day partisans arrive at Florya's house to conscript him. Florya becomes a low-rank militiaman and is ordered to perform menial tasks. When the partisans are ready to move on, their commander, Kosach, orders Florya to remain behind at the camp. Bitterly disappointed, Florya walks into the forest weeping and meets Glasha, and the two bond before the camp is suddenly attacked by German paratroopers and dive bombers. Florya is partially deafened from explosions before the two hide in the forest to avoid the German soldiers. Florya and Glasha travel to his village, only to find his home deserted and covered in flies. Denying that his family is dead, Florya believes that they are hiding on a nearby island across a bog. As they leave the village, Glasha sees a pile of bodies behind the house, but does not alert Florya. The two become hysterical after wading through the bog, where Glasha screams at Florya his family were dead in the village. They are soon met by Roubej, a partisan fighter, who takes them to a large group of villagers who have fled the Germans. Florya sees an elderly villager badly burnt by the Germans, who tells him that he witnessed his family's execution. Florya accepts that his family is dead and blames himself for the tragedy. Read more on Wikipedia.
MPAA Rating: | NR |
Genre: | Drama, War |
Directed By: | Elem Klimov |
Written By: | Ales Adamovich, Elem Klimov |
Cast: | Viktor Manaev, Olga Mironova, Tatyana Shestakova, Evgeniy Kryzhanovskiy, Valentin Mishatkin, V. Vasilyev, Kazimir Rabetsky, Yevgeniya Polyakova, Takhir Matyullin, N. Lisichenok, Vasiliy Domrachyov, Evgeniy Tilicheev, Oleg Shapko, Pyotr Merkurev, Viktor Lorents, Aleksey Kravchenko, Georgiy Strokov, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas, Anatoly Slivnikov, Aleksandr Berda, G. Velts, G. Yelkin, Igor Gnevashev, Jüri Lumiste, Gennadiy Matytsky |
In Theaters: | Oct 17, 1985 |
Runtime: | 2 hours 22 minutes |
Production: | Belarusfilm, Mosfilm |