Frères Ennemis

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.

If one wants to watch good war movies he should look out for Scandinavian or Eastern Europe productions - war movies from there of course got not the big budget of Hollywood blockbusters but beat them easy - they are far more realistic, got better characters and more interesting stories to tell. 1944 is one of those movies: it tells us the story of Estonian soldiers fighting the Sowjets - and against Estonians fighting on the side of the Red Army. Action scenes and acting are good, the story too. Beats Dunkirk and 1917 and such Hollywood overpraised stuff easy - of course no Brad Pitt or Tom Hardy around who beat single-handed a battalion of enemies. Good.

Roughly speaking, there are 2 sorts of war films - those focusing on a big battle/offensive, and those where a war is a background excuse/reason to substantiate the actions of the characters. The Estonian 1944 has nicely managed to combine both of them in the 1.5-hour-film, without a single protagonist, but still with many personages and events. The script is smooth and motivated (based on several diaries), the venues and dates are real - at least for most of Estonians; foreigners might need additional information as even cardinal points for locations may be confusing. The cast is evenly strong, but again - almost all performers are well known in Estonia, also those in smaller roles, and local viewers would have joy of recognition, but there is no actor with fame beyond Estonia. So, the budget of below EUR 2 million was followed...

All in all, a painful yet realistic story, a fine creation to think back / find out how the things were in this part of the world in 1944, even when the concepts and approaches are clearly visible. A balanced story without political correctness or "decent" views on history.

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.

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.