A military drama. The film adaptation of the novel of the same name by the Soviet and Russian writer (and during the war, a front-line intelligence officer) Emmanuel Genrikhovich Kazakevich. The author of this review is unfamiliar with the story (but knows about its key points), so he will evaluate the picture as an independent work. I remember that the author of this review first learned about the painting "The Star" when he was still a schoolboy (he and other children were then taken to the city museum and shown the 2002 painting, which was good and quite emotional, and the author remembered it for a very long time). But it turned out that the 2002 painting was a reworking of the 1949 painting, so the original had to be checked out. And after watching, the redesign doesn't look as good as it did before. And here's a brief opinion - Excellent Soviet post-war cinema. There were no flaws in the painting (after all, it is not customary to scold for the technical part and primitive technologies), and you should not find fault with some inconsistencies with the real story either (there are few discrepancies, and they do not affect the artistic side in any way). Therefore, we should focus on the advantages of this military drama, and finish this important introduction.
So, here they are:
1. The scenario is 1944. The Soviet troops are preparing to finally liberate the Soviet land from the Nazi invaders and transfer the fighting to the territory of occupied Europe. To find out the enemy's plans, the command of one of the Red Army units sends a group of experienced scouts, but it soon turns out that the entire group died while completing the task. And since the area is very important, a new group is immediately being prepared under the leadership of Lieutenant Travkin, including newly arrived Lieutenant Meshcheryakov and Sergeant Mamokin. They penetrate into the German front and rear and notice the accumulation of large enemy forces, which are clearly preparing for a counterattack. The task is completed, but when returning, one trouble after another happens, and the command simply has to get the latest intelligence. Not all the scouts will be able to return back, but they will all carry out the order to the end. The film is about the courage and heroism of Soviet intelligence officers who show their best qualities during the mission. At the same time, the characters are well revealed, and we will be shown both the Soviet command, which is worried about them, and the actions of the enemy, who intends to find the Russian group and prevent them from passing important information "to the other side." The ending is a bit pretentious, but at the same time filled with humanity.
2. The atmosphere - the correct uniforms of both Soviet soldiers and officers, as well as the SS troops, military equipment, including Studebakers, and music by composer Venedikt Pushkov played here. And if everything is too emotional in the 2002 remake, then everything is more modest here. There is no tension, there is the harsh truth of the war - a colleague died, we must continue to fight. It is possible to grieve and give a decent burial only after the war, but for now time is precious. The young radio star Kata Simakova, played by Irina Radchenko, behaves here like a girl in love who, nevertheless, fulfills her duty. The Germans here are just performing a combat mission, acting skillfully. A little pathos only emphasizes this picture and its atmosphere.
3. Acting - Lieutenant Travkin performed by Anatoly Verbitsky, Lieutenant Meshcheryakov performed by Alexey Pokrovsky, Colonel Serbichenko performed by Oleg Zhakov, SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Werner performed by Andrei Veit, Lieutenant Mamokin performed by Nikolai Kryuchkov and so on. They all performed their roles brilliantly. It was a Soviet acting school. They don't make such things anymore, and therefore we must appreciate the masters of the past.
The main characters had real prototypes, from which Emmanuel Genrikhovich Kazakevich copied the images. Travkin is Nikolai Kirillovich Tkachenko, and Meshcheryakov is Ivan Vasilyevich Meshcheryakov. Both successfully fought during the war, were holders of many orders and medals, and after the war, they were worthy citizens of the Soviet Union.
The ending of the picture is good, although it makes you think logically, nevertheless it was a success. This is certainly not a "Scout's Feat," but it's still high-quality work. It's just a pity that I had to watch the castrated nine-minute version instead of the original, and the moments of gluing are visible. It is worth appreciating the Soviet cinema of those years, because it will never be better than those masters about that war.
Rating 8 out of 10 and recommended for viewing!
