Skybird
05-06-14, 03:29 PM
Yesterday, I saw a nice and poetic movie on German-French TV channel ARTE, title was "4 Tage im Mai". The movie was an international coproduction by Germany, Ukraine and Russia. Images, trailer and the movie itself can be seen here:
http://www.arte.tv/guide/de/044078-000/4-tage-im-mai
This is one of those silent jewels that so often remain unnoticed and never raise much attention - undeserved. It is based on real historic events, Russian time witnesses confessed for the authenticity of the story.
Mostly told from the eyes of a 13 year old boy, the story is set close to and at the end of WWII. At an isolated place at the German Baltic coast, a troop of 8 Russian soldiers have set up a post in a former farmhouse that now serves as an orphanage for around two dozen children and a few adult women. The Russians know that the war is almost won, but they have almost no ammunition, no contact to their HQ, and are tired of the war. They should make prisoners. Instead, they arrange themselves with the German staff and children.
Not long, and a German unit arrives in their vicinity, ten times as many soldiers, better equipped, but as tired of war like the Russians are, just waiting for an opportunity to flee to Denmark. They form a camp, and sit there, maintaining their boat. Both sides are monitoring each other, and nobody starts to fight, because everybody is sick of fighting. They all are just took tired of the endless war. Live and let live, the motto has become.
In the middle of it is a 13 year old boy who lost his family, and is driven by the desire for adventure, his first soft roimantic feelings for a young woman of the staff, and his desire to take revenge against the Russians. He runs back and forth and tries to cionvicne the Germany to attack the Russians. But the German coimmander does not take the bait.
At the same time the Russian commander carefully forms a friendship with the boy, realising his emotional vulnerability - and his own, while one of his young troopers forms a shy relation with the same young woman. The boy becomes envious, and again tries to make the Germans attack, and the German commander again refuses while at the same time trying to give the impression that what the boy does is an important service, and courageous.
Then the BBC announces the end of the war in Europe, and the Russians have a moderate celebration with the staff from the orphanage, and a little party, while the German unit disappears.
Tragically, the inhumanity of war arrives on the day of the German capitulation, when at the end of the party another Russian unit arrives and its major shows to be a thug trying to rape the women. But he gets stopped by the other Russian commander, and driven out, he and his men decide to protect the helpless Germans. The Russian thug wants revenge and orders an attack with the goal to kill the "deserters". A firefight errupts, first Russian soldiers die on both sides.
The German boy runs away and finds the Germans who want to flee to Denmark. They decide to help, and arrive at the orphanage. Suddenly, Germans and Russians fight together, to protect the children and women. The film ends with the fighting over, and so many Russians and Germans having died a useless death.
The ending sounds almost unbelievable, but Russian sources insist that it has happened like that, and is authentic.
This is a movie of quiet sounds and patient, slow pictures, not too many words and more told by faces, with some excellent actors, and a very carefully arranged, fragile mood catching the viewer. The war takes place without "it" being shown, there is no action or stunts, and the battle at the end also takes place without turning the viewer into a voyeur of action and horror, focussing on the locked boy in the basement instead.
Wonderful movie, really. If you can understand German, very recommended. I was surprised that the directing was by a German, I would have sworn that it were a Russian movie. Not all their war movies from the 50s and 60s were propaganda only, but there are some that are artworks of beauty, sensibility and humanity that I have never fogotten although unfortunately I cannot remember their titles (I saw them on Eastgerman TV when living in Westberlin). This one reminded me of them.
http://www.arte.tv/guide/de/044078-000/4-tage-im-mai
This is one of those silent jewels that so often remain unnoticed and never raise much attention - undeserved. It is based on real historic events, Russian time witnesses confessed for the authenticity of the story.
Mostly told from the eyes of a 13 year old boy, the story is set close to and at the end of WWII. At an isolated place at the German Baltic coast, a troop of 8 Russian soldiers have set up a post in a former farmhouse that now serves as an orphanage for around two dozen children and a few adult women. The Russians know that the war is almost won, but they have almost no ammunition, no contact to their HQ, and are tired of the war. They should make prisoners. Instead, they arrange themselves with the German staff and children.
Not long, and a German unit arrives in their vicinity, ten times as many soldiers, better equipped, but as tired of war like the Russians are, just waiting for an opportunity to flee to Denmark. They form a camp, and sit there, maintaining their boat. Both sides are monitoring each other, and nobody starts to fight, because everybody is sick of fighting. They all are just took tired of the endless war. Live and let live, the motto has become.
In the middle of it is a 13 year old boy who lost his family, and is driven by the desire for adventure, his first soft roimantic feelings for a young woman of the staff, and his desire to take revenge against the Russians. He runs back and forth and tries to cionvicne the Germany to attack the Russians. But the German coimmander does not take the bait.
At the same time the Russian commander carefully forms a friendship with the boy, realising his emotional vulnerability - and his own, while one of his young troopers forms a shy relation with the same young woman. The boy becomes envious, and again tries to make the Germans attack, and the German commander again refuses while at the same time trying to give the impression that what the boy does is an important service, and courageous.
Then the BBC announces the end of the war in Europe, and the Russians have a moderate celebration with the staff from the orphanage, and a little party, while the German unit disappears.
Tragically, the inhumanity of war arrives on the day of the German capitulation, when at the end of the party another Russian unit arrives and its major shows to be a thug trying to rape the women. But he gets stopped by the other Russian commander, and driven out, he and his men decide to protect the helpless Germans. The Russian thug wants revenge and orders an attack with the goal to kill the "deserters". A firefight errupts, first Russian soldiers die on both sides.
The German boy runs away and finds the Germans who want to flee to Denmark. They decide to help, and arrive at the orphanage. Suddenly, Germans and Russians fight together, to protect the children and women. The film ends with the fighting over, and so many Russians and Germans having died a useless death.
The ending sounds almost unbelievable, but Russian sources insist that it has happened like that, and is authentic.
This is a movie of quiet sounds and patient, slow pictures, not too many words and more told by faces, with some excellent actors, and a very carefully arranged, fragile mood catching the viewer. The war takes place without "it" being shown, there is no action or stunts, and the battle at the end also takes place without turning the viewer into a voyeur of action and horror, focussing on the locked boy in the basement instead.
Wonderful movie, really. If you can understand German, very recommended. I was surprised that the directing was by a German, I would have sworn that it were a Russian movie. Not all their war movies from the 50s and 60s were propaganda only, but there are some that are artworks of beauty, sensibility and humanity that I have never fogotten although unfortunately I cannot remember their titles (I saw them on Eastgerman TV when living in Westberlin). This one reminded me of them.