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The Orphanage meets Private Ryan. This is certainly a different type of WWII film. Not your daddy's tale of bravery.

But, it is just what you would expect from writer/director Jeff Burr, who gave us Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Puppet Master 4 & 5, and Pumpkinhead II. A slightly bizarre twist on the usual WWII story.

Two deserters, Ryan Francis and Scott MacDonald, come upon a group of orphans that have mental and physical handicaps. The man and woman who ran the orphanage before the war trained them to fight. Deming (MacDonald) is a real sleaze, who tries to rape the woman despite her obvious scars. They are attacked by 60 Germans who are after treasure in the building where they are holed up.

The story is a mixture of strange and tender amidst the horrors of war. There is enough of Burr's past work to keep horror fans interested, but there is a beauty underneath, if you look for it.

Check it out for a different take on war.

This appears to be a good movie, for those who like this sort of thing. There's not a lot of happiness here, but we see people get things done and stand tall despite obstacles, even though the two stars are nothing more than cowards at the beginning.

The main adult actors all give good performances. I would also add the German officer to that list. He is not evil but just doing his job. At one point he states that he feels like a father to his men.

The children do a great job, and I would single out the boy with no legs and the girl with the mask, even though neither says a word. You can just see their determination and courage.

A few years ago a TV detective lost either his wife or his son in a car accident. When the son was alive everything appeared blue. When the wife was alive colors were closer to yellow or orange. That's how much of the movie is. Colors are much more vivid in the flashbacks and visions, though in one case Losey is having a nightmare and everything quickly turns blue, followed by bright orange when there are explosions. It's quite an effective technique. I do wish the brightly colored flashbacks had lasted longer and had more character development, because we really needed positive images.

It's quite good if you like this sort of thing.

Andrei Dumitrescu is exceptional. Vote Basescu!!!

It's good to see there are still some filmmakers out there who push their craft beyond some tired formula. Despite a low budget (which shows at times) this film is obviously a labor of love for the director and the cast. The scenes involving the children are superbly handled and director Jeff Burr deserves enormous credit for their effectiveness. I love war films and this one works on that level, but it can't be pigeon holed as just another war movie. There's a lot going on and sometimes the filmmakers' reach exceeds their grasp, but more often the movie is very, very effective. This movie will have you talking

After a superior opening sequence in the minefield, the film winds down, with much walking and talking. It then picks up again when the battle begins between the orphan army and the Nazis. At this point the movie really has nowhere to go. Obviously the rag tag children are not going to defeat the Germans and their tank. Unfortunately the battle sequences are not always credible, and seem stretched to the maximum. I think that the initial idea of the two deserters could have been further developed, rather than boxing everything into a conclusion that is rather unlikely and therefore somewhat unsatisfying................. - MERK

This movie is about two American deserters in WWII. Apparently they were court-marshaled for an accident involving a flame-thrower, but not too much is revealed about that, with the exception of the same flash-back annoyingly popping up every 10mins. As they travel the European countryside, not very much interesting happens to them. The two actors are your typical unknown amateur actors who sound like they are reading their lines rather than speaking them. And when the reach a strange orphanage, the story gets weirder before it gets any good.

I thought the direction really wasn't that good, with the exception of the action sequences, which were up to the standard of any other good action director. But the rest left something to be desired. Some movies with small budgets can sometimes pull of really great things, and you are surprised to find out that it was a small budget. This one doesn't and reeks of a B-movie all over it.

If you really love war movies and are desperate for another one, check this one out, I am sure you won't be too disappointed. But the rest of you can pass on this one, you won't be missing much.