Drága Elza!

SPOILER: This is of course basically a WW2 (or Great Patriotic War) war film: Hungarian soldier gets caught by Soviet forces, forced into a penal battalion, and everything proceeds from there. Since there would be no movie if he got blown up early, he survives being a 'trampler' and does not end up killed or maimed by a mine - the very mines his 'side' in the war has laid for the Soviets. Any war movie has to be judged by the quality of action scenes and views of movements, fight scenes, use of ammunition and military hardware. This is quite skilfully done - although this is a Hungarian movie we actually see mostly Soviet fighters in action, except for the occasional Hungarians and Germans, one Italian prisoner, and some snipers. Nothing about the brutality and violence of war, down to the brutal questioning of prisoners and a rape scene, is ignored or toned down. To some extent, you could say this movie is about identity: how do I know where right and wrong may actually be? Why should I hate the enemy? Isn't it logical for Russians to hate me since I was part of the group that invaded their motherland? All this is well done, but the most innovative part may reside in the Jewish- Hungarian deserter, an older man, who has gone over to the Soviets and plays the part of Lombos Mihaly's conscience, unless it is the devil - a very convincing part with the appropriate chiaroscuro filming choices most of the time. It might be appropriate to deal with the devil since after all Lombos, who has repeatedly been denied a furlough, is going down through several circles of Hell here. Some are obvious (the land mines), some are more psychological (could his wife cheat with an officer and have his name kept out of the list for furloughs, hoping he'd die?). Some Hungarian commentators have raised the notion they did not like the movie because it was more like a Soviet movie extolling the greatness of the red Army, political commissars included, rather than the value of the Hungarian soldiers and officers, whom we actually see only briefly, mostly at the beginning. Since Hungarians were Nazi allies, it is of course a touchy proposition to extol the virtues of the Hungarian army in WW2. In the end, and without spoiling a somewhat surprising ending, what remains is an individual's attempt at surviving and discovering himself through tough war experiences and with the on and off advice of a devil-like figure. This is certainly a movie worth seeing. The end and the beginning offer short moments that are completely out of the war setting making the philosophical choices even more obvious, as well as the function of a diary Lombos Mihaly writes in at odd times. Th musical score and the few songs, particularly at the beginning and the end, are remarkable. Even watching mostly with subtitles, since the soundtrack and dialogues are in Hungarian, Russian, and a little German and Italian.

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.

This movie can be found on the Drága Elza! YouTube channel with English subtitles.

First off, I don't know what the budget of this film was, all i know is they Nailed it! the actors were great. The special effects could sometimes be seen slightly out place such as snow falling be a screen effect, things like helmets, uniforms, and some props ect. looked a little to "clean" but not enough to were it seemed completely out place, mainly because the authenticity of the weapons and equipment used was well done. overall quite impressed.

Realistic scenes, fascinating Characters and thematic.

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