Razzhalovannyi

Without giving away the story, this is a cathartic slice-of-life vignette of the Second World War in Russia. The acting is superb and Ms. Olga Lapshina delivers a heart-wrenching performance worthy of ten Oscars. The filming itself brings to mind the finest moments of Tarkovsky. An atmospheric, lump-in-throat experience well worth each of its ten stars. Definitely one of the best Russian films of today. However, personally I found certain moments of the screenplay a bit too in-your-face preachy, like the fact that the two opponents turn out to be namesakes (how "symbolic"!) or the final shot where the hero is all too obviously compared to Charon taking the dead characters across the river in his boat. That was driving in the nail of symbolism a bit too hard, for my liking. A very powerful, believable, realistic experience worth every moment of it.