The title of this movie in ROKU was Winter War. The title I needed to use to find it in IMDB was The Frozen Front. The title used in this review's window is Winter War. Then when it was published, The Frozen Front. Go figure.
I immediately recognized the format of this movie. It was French. French cinematography relies heavily on this monolog philosophical rant about the topic at hand. Each character will have their time in expressing their position on the topic, and usually its noir. It isn't something I like personally, but the French (France) love it. The Italians to a lesser degree.
And there are times when the plot justifies it for my enjoyment. There aren't too many American films that do this. However, one that come close to mind is Taxi Driver. To a much lesser degree, Mike Hammer detective stories.
What rubbed me the wrong way was the script's attempt to paint the harsh and deadly reality of war this French unit had to endure. It gave the impression that they were the only ones, and this was the ultimate hell on earth. To an individual in any theatre of war, it is true, however, the script spent way too much time on it, and it was too simplistic riddled with American cliches. Those of us who have knowledge of harsher conditions, we may begin to feel annoyed as the dialog carries on. One military unit that dealt successfully with hardships and death and were quite successful in WWII was the First Special Service Force. A combination of American and Canadian commandos.
Which leads me to think that maybe it was the translation form French to English. Often, a cliche in one language has no direct corresponding cliché in the other. I notice this quite often in Italian cinematography. When dealing with light humour, this isn't a big deal. When dealing with a serous plot/dialog, this may become torture. A cliche will summarize the emotions and ideas in few words for that language and culture. That is its strength and popularity. Another similar cliche in another language will not convey the same qualities, hence, the script dialog is broken, and the thought process limps and struggles resulting in very negative reviews from Anglophones and positive reviews for Francophones.
As an Anglophone and Italophone, I'm torn between a low rating or higher. I decided to give it three because it was presented in English and the more care should have been given in the English dubbing. But given that the script relied enormously on the style mentioned above, I can't see how it could have been done.
In closing.... it's a war movie focussed on the hardships a small group of men had to endure, both psychologically and physically, in the last days of WWII.
