Khozhdenie po mukam

No, not from crying (although I am sure there was plenty of that from other viewers). No, red eyes from lack of sleep. This is one of those multi-part series where I had to tell myself multiple times - "it's 5AM, you MUST stop watching and go to bed. You can pick it up again tomorrow."

Production values are incredible. Sets! Costumes! Characters! I have been doing a lot of reading about WWI and the Russian Revolution lately, and that series transported me back to that time, place, and atmosphere totally. In this era of cynicism and jadedness, who of we viewers didn't roll our eyes a few times at the naievte of the poetry?

I have no negative comments. However, I can speak a little Russian, and I should warn anyone who has yet to view this wonder that there are a LOT of characters and sometimes it's tricky to keep track of eveyone's name and relationships. You might want to keep a list. LOL

Right length, right hooks, great budget. Thoroughly enjoyable watching

A superb historical drama in all respects. Amazing cinematography, sets, music, costumes, epic scenes that transfer us to Russia in this turbulent time of its history. As it's based on the book by Alexey Tolstoy, credits for the story and the characters should be given to him. What captured me was the depth and realistic depiction of the heroes. Their conflicting emotions and responses to the unexpected and sudden turn of events that are out of their control. It is not just a "love story" as some viewers have called it; that would be degrading to the story itself. It is a story about Russia, the people who claiming / believing they love it did horrible things in the name of this love. It is not a coincidence that all the characters, who represent all different social classes and interests, say the same: "We do it for Russia", "We have to save the motherland", "We need a new Russia". All well-said and well-intended but with the consequences that history showed this "love" had.

Oh my word, what a series! This 12 episode series, based on Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoys book trilogy The Road To Calvary ( originally written in Russian ) was enthralling, beautiful, touching and heart wrenching. It tells the story of the two Bulavina sisters and their lives as they live through the 1st World war and the Russian revolution. It's a film about love. It's about the love of sisters, of their lovers, of their friends, of the love of country and ideology. It even has time for some Bonny and Clyde action. Whilst being sentimental and romantic, it stays away from sex scenes or any nudity at all. It does paint a bleak picture of the vulnerability of women on their own in places of conflict and deals with rape and violence without being too explicit or gory. There are strong scenes of battles which show the physical consequences of bombs and bullets whilst not being overly graphic. In the final episode there is a scene of children being mudered in an executional style shooting by War Lord, which may upset some. This is an epic series and covers different aspects of family politics and the meaning of friendship. It doesn't hold back from showing the torment and human cost of a revolution. If I was to be hyper critical it would be that 10 episodes not 12 would have been sufficient but a series based on a book trilogy might find it hard to be edited that way. If you like history and romance this film is for you and if I have 3 days free I might even watch it again!

I'm sorry, I just loved it. The costumes, the locations, the beautiful women and great combat scenes. Some of the acting was great, none of it less than good. Story moved at a nice pace.