1944

If you have ever swum in the ocean and been caught between a receding wave and an incoming tide, you'll understand this film. Without giving away the story line, let me just say, just try to imagine the opposing tidal waves of Soviet vs. Nazi power converging on the tiny Baltic states. This film catalogs the war time experiences of but a few representative Estonian young men involved in the action and political intrigue. Intensely emotive, and frightening, with action filled battled sequences,1944 will have you squirming in your seat and reaching for more than one tissue. I am both happy and sad that I watched it.

Set during the Battle of Tannenburg in 1944 this is the story of several Estonian men who fought for either Stalin or Hitler. The story is both simple and moving and it really does not pull its punches.

The action is as good as any you will see and the materiel all seemed to be spot on as well as the uniforms. The Russian T34 tanks looked very real and even though there is some CGI here it makes no difference to the overall quality of the film.

There is a love interest too but that is both incidental and also a large part in that the affections in war time can often be magnified due to the constant proximity of death and injury. The acting is just perfect and the direction seemingly effortless in how well it was done. There is very little to find fault with here. In Estonian, Russian and German with good sub titles.

This is a film for those who appreciate a quality production and it may also shine a light on a part of that war that many of us know very little about, completely recommended.

A WW2 movie coming from Estonia. A part in that war many westerners forget about and even more so those not 'into' world war history.

Originally Estonia declared neutrality in the war but was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Mass political arrests,deportations, and executions followed. Many Estonians were force into the Red army. During the German Operation Barbarossa in 1941 Estonia was occupied by Germany. As a result many Estonians were conscripted to the Nazi German forces and also many became SS Volunteers, recognizable by the 'Blue, Black & White' Estonian flag on the sleeve of their SS uniform and Divisional insignia on their collars.

This movie focuses on fighting in the year 1944. The Red Army advanced back into Estonia. Estonians are fighting on both sides, inevitably opposing each other. Without revealing too much about the plot, we all know how WW2 ended. Estonia was occupied by the Soviets and became part of the USSR until August 20, 1991.

As an anti-war movie this movie succeeds in a marvelous way. It's insane how another man's war can bring such confusion and destruction to a small country like Estonia. Death can come any moment, but so can luck. No main character in the movie can be considered all good or all bad in that childish Disney kind of way.

The pace of the movie is solid and speeds up where it is needed and takes time to dive deeper into the developing storyline(s) and characters of the movie. For those interested in larger battle scenes, the Battle of Tannenberg Line is impressive!

For those that are fed up by American or Russian made movies about world war 2 making their side look like holier-than-thou victorious heroes, here's a real bleak and more realistic view on the war without that tedious black&white lens the big ColdWar contenders tend to put over it.

Movie about the 'liberation' of Estland during 1944.

A movie filled with excellent scenes on very realistic looking battlegrounds.

This movie shows the fuzzy distinction between estonians - whom are conscripted for the German SS - fighting against other estonians that are often forced to fight for the Red Army. So you will see a 'war amongst brothers', which eventually causes Estonia to become communist. This movie clearly challenges the viewer to think whether Estonia was really 'liberated' when it became under the power of Stalin.

I rate this movie 7.4/10, almost making an IMDb rating of 8.

It was a movie about the bad situation that Estonians were in during the World War II. This is a 'world' war but Estonians are killing Estonians. Just sad...