In 1941, the core of the partisan movement in the USSR were groups of Red Army soldiers that had escaped encirclement by the German Army on its way to Moscow. Later, civilians joined. Most detachments were commanded by Red Army officers. With time, the partisans became a formidable force that severely disrupted German communication lines and ambushed German troops. The Wehrmacht (as well as the SS) executed all partisans they took prisoner with the pretext that they were not regular soldiers, thus not entitled to prisoner of war status. Often, villagers were forced to view the executions. Thousands of villagers were summarily executed for (real or suspected) collaboration with the partisans.
This film (a coproduction of Kazakhstan and Belarus) follows the detachment commanded by Kazakh officer Adi Sharipov, born in 1912 and drafted in the Red Army in 1940. The time frame is from the summer of 1941 to the summer of 1943 on the eve of the Battle of Kursk, in which the partisans played an essential role destroying bridges, roads and rail lines in the rear of the German lines. Partisans were instrumental in the Soviet victory, the turning point of WWII and the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.
Script by director Bekbolat Shekerov is partly based on postwar writings of Sharipov. Shekerov has put it on screen fluidly, never losing the viewer's interest. Acting has some rough edges and some battle scenes are less than perfect, but reconstruction of time and place is flawless and there are some magical moments such as Sharipov being guided through a swamp and some moving scenes of his childhood in Kazakhstan. The film offers a valuable history lesson without preaching of flag waving. A war film that attains its objective brilliantly.
