Drága Elza!

Set on the Eastern Front during World War II, this film revolves around a Hungarian soldier by the name of "Lombos Mihaly" (Gabor Makray) being denied a much-needed furlough and sent back to the front lines where he is subsequently captured during combat by Soviet soldiers. Feeling betrayed by a Hungarian Jew named "Ziffer Lajos" (Tamas Varga) he lashes out at him and is subsequently beaten by the guards and forced to clear minefields as punishment by "Commissar Anatol Kozov" (Geza Bodor). Although death seems a near certainty, Lombos remains hopeful of one day returning home if for no other reason than to find out if his wife has remained faithful in his absence. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an extremely interesting film due in large part to the way the director (Zoltan Fule) managed to portray the horrors of war from the soldier's point-of-view on the Russian Front. Quite remarkable. Admittedly, it does bog down to some degree around the middle stages and the ending wasn't quite as good as I would have liked, but I enjoyed this film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

On the Eastern Front during WW2, a disheartened Hungarian soldier is constantly refused furlough (Gábor Makray) and captured by the Soviets wherein he's used as a "trampler," a POW used to secure mined German-occupied areas for Soviet combatants; his mastery of several languages helps extend his life.

"Dear Elza!" (2014) is a Hungarian production that meshes "Enemy at the Gates" (2001) with Indie-styled filmmaking à la "Straight Into Darkness" (2004) along with spiritual underpinnings in the mold of "The Devil's Nightmare," aka "The Devil Walks at Midnight" (1971).

The paranormal angle is slight, so don't let that turn you away. If you like WW2 flicks that emphasize the harsh conditions of fighting in the snowy European woods, you should appreciate this. The colorful action is superbly done and makes you feel like you're in the midst of the combat. Man's inhumanity to man is emphasized (and by 'man' I mean male and female; speaking of which, there are a few female militarists in this, which keeps things interesting).

The theme revolves around reality vs. hallucination and the moralistic tension between faith, instinct and reason. Some elements leave you scratching your head, including the ending. Meanwhile some of the editing early on is puzzling and almost derails the film, but if you don't mind ambiguity and relentlessly downbeat, brutal war flicks, give this one a watch.

The movie runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Hungary.

GRADE: B

"The different between reality and the hallucinations of a man who has lost all hope, is only revealed in hindsight.That is the difference: his thoughts" Kolia: actor and clow quote [35:47] Resumes an essential question in the story. It might be a quote by Nikolai Gogol. Perhaps from "A diary from a Madman. It's just a guess: I was not able to find it. I hope someone knows about this.

Realistic scenes, fascinating Characters and thematic.

Very fascinating Hungarian war movie that has deep religious undertones combined with great realistic battle scenes.