Father of a Soldier

Starring:Sergo Zaqariadze, Vladimir Privaltsev, Aleksandr Nazarov (II), Aleksandr Lebedev, Yuri Drozdov, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Viktor Uralsky, Qetevan Bochorishvili, Vladimir Pitsek, Pyotr Lyubeshkin, Nikolai Barmin, Inna Vykhodtseva, Yelena Maksimova, Roman Vildan, Radner Muratov, Bondo Goginava, Victor Mizin, I. Nizharadze, Valentin Kulik, L. Zgvauri
Director: Rezo Chkheidze
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The last and least memorable of John Ford's famous cavalry trilogy (following Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon), Rio Grande nonetheless has an interesting continuity about the gentlemanly rules of military conduct. Here the focus is on the family. While creating a heated controversy over his handling of the Apache war, John Wayne must also contend with disgruntled wife Maureen O'Hara and estranged son Claude Jarman Jr., a new recruit trying to earn his father's love and respect. Ford seems to suggest that there are two conflicting codes of honor in every cavalry officer's life, the personal as well as the professional, and that it takes an act of heroism to maintain both. It's fascinating to observe Wayne's progression throughout the trilogy, as his personal stakes intensify. Also, this is the first of five onscreen appearances between the Duke and O'Hara, each filled with a competitive spirit and stormy sexuality. --Bill Desowitz

Customer Reviews:

A Quite Musical Western.......2007-05-24

One characteristic of this old black-and-white flick is the singing of old folk songs by the men of the US Cavalry. There is also a display of various cavalry skills. For instance, the mounted men must jump over a 6-foot fence.

Lt. Colonel Yorke (John Wayne) has his son in the cavalry unit, but pledges to treat him equally to everyone else. Yorke's son had failed West Point, and now wants to redeem himself in the US Cavalry. His mother (Maureen O'Hara) comes, and tries to have him removed from the unit. The other soldiers think that the son is privileged, and this leads to a fistfight.

The US Cavalry is fighting against the Apache Indians. Yorke is limited by the fact that he is forbidden to cross into Mexico to pursue the Apaches. The Mexicans have the opposite problem. This becomes obvious when Yorke meets with his Mexican counterpart on an isle in the middle of the Rio Grande.

In time, there is a savage Apache attack, and some children are kidnapped and taken across the border into Mexico. Yorke decides to disobey the directive and to cross the Rio Grande in pursuit of the Apaches and their hostages. Will his unexpected move catch the Apaches by surprise? Will he succeed in freeing the hostages? During the operation, he takes an arrow in the chest. Will he live?

Classic Western Movie with an outstanding actor........2007-03-11

This John Wayne Western movie is great.
I intend to make it a part of my DVD library
including other Western classics.

Rio Grande: The start of a great pairing.......2007-03-08

Rio Grande was conceived as a movie to pay for the making of another film. John Ford wanted to make a little film called "The Quiet Man" but Columbia Studios wanted a quick money maker to pay for the next production. The result was "Rio Grande." A classic in its own right, one that should not be missed. Directed by John Ford and starring Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne together for the first time. The story is what hyou should expect from Ford, good action and get characters. Look for many familar faces in this film, like Victor MacLagen, Chill Wills, Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr. This film is part of the fabled cavalry trilogy. It is rousing and exciting. Atrue classic, don't miss it.

The most sentimental of Ford's movies..........2006-11-08

Ford's cavalry trilogy is, in its way, just as much Victor McLaglen's trilogy, for he appears once again in 'Rio Grande', still superbly filling the tough-soft sergeant part, still providing the Ford horse-play comedy element with just a touch of parody, still, one might add, probably fulfilling Ford's own particular vision of revering the heroes who have helped conquer the West...

The McLaglen sergeant seems drawn on the spreading of lines, but in retrospect, one realizes that somehow, paradoxically, he has inspired a remarkable degree of realism into the three motion pictures... (They would be not the same without him.)

'Rio Grande' has a very strong domestic flavor...

John Wayne - a casualty of the Civil War - is a cavalry officer, under strict orders, with great family problems... He's a northerner who, not surprisingly, has left his wife, a southerner, because he obediently did his military duty and burned several southern plantations - including the one owned by his wife's family... Maureen O'Hara - bringing a fitting maturity to her stereotyped assignment in the film - never forgives her husband for burning her plantation, and abruptly takes their son and goes away, effectively ending their marriage...

Fifteen years later, Wayne, promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Cavalry officer, attempts to maintain the truce calm at his southwestern post, which is besieged by marauding renegade Apaches who are continually using the border with Mexico as an escape route after their raids, a lost cause since the U.S. and Mexican governments agreed that their military forces will not cross the Rio Grande under any circumstances...

He hurries to put down an Indian uprising when his past and his wife cross his path again... He is confronted by a new recruit: his West Point dropout son (Claude Jarman Jr.) and, later, the arrival of his frigid wife, desperate to buy her son out of the cavalry...

Everything, domestically and militarily is, of course, resolved successfully and, indeed, predictably, but it is the texture of the film that gives it its enjoyment - the gentle study of the reconciliation of a colonel and his estranged wife; the interplay of a father compelled to send his son on a dangerous mission; the peculiar supporting contributions of the 'beloved brute sergeant,' or the cavalry side-kicks, Ben Johnson and Harry Carey, Jr.

The three films (even considered singly) give a feeling of frontier military life, however colored by a director's highly personal viewpoint, that has hardly been approached, let alone surpassed...

There's a beautiful scene in which Wayne and Maureen are serenaded by soldiers of his troop... We can observe a husband meditating about all that went wrong with his marriage, and watch the inclination and desire that exist in his longing sideways brief look at his wife...

With first rate acting and lushly sentimental score, 'Rio Grande' can never be missed... It is the last of John Ford's cavalry movies and the most sentimental...

Very Fine 3rd Calvary Movie.......2006-09-24

The third and last of the calvary is also the weakest. That's not to say its a bad film. Rio Grande explores the Army officer's conflicted devotions to his family and to his uniform. The first half is quite good with Wayne contending with having both his son and his estranged wife (who's house he burned down in the Civil War) underfoot as he tries to do his job fighting the Indian Wars. Unfortunately, the second half of the film is a bit of a letdown. Instead of further developing the fascinating character of Wayne as an excellent soldier and poor father and husband, Ford gives the viewer far too many singing cowboy interludes and an elaborate and unconvincing fight sequence and daring rescue mission. Can't help but feel Ford and Wayne ducked a great opportunity in favor of easy action entertainment.

Average customer rating:

A Quite Musical Western
Classic Western Movie with an outstanding actor.
Rio Grande: The start of a great pairing
The most sentimental of Ford's movies...
Very Fine 3rd Calvary Movie

Rio Grande (Collector's Edition)
Starring: John Wayne , Maureen O'Hara , Ben Johnson , Claude Jarman Jr. , and Harry Carey Jr.
Director: John Ford
Manufacturer: Republic Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006JMRF
Release Date: 2002-10-22

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Customer Reviews:

A Quite Musical Western.......2007-05-24

Classic Western Movie with an outstanding actor........2007-03-11

This John Wayne Western movie is great.
I intend to make it a part of my DVD library
including other Western classics.

Rio Grande: The start of a great pairing.......2007-03-08

The most sentimental of Ford's movies..........2006-11-08

Very Fine 3rd Calvary Movie.......2006-09-24

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Heart Piercing
who needs freud?
sTRANGELY OVERRATED
One of Sokurov's most difficult but rewarding films...
beautiful and unbalanced

Father and Son
Starring: Andrei Shchetinin , Aleksei Nejmyshev , Aleksandr Razbash , Fyodor Lavrov , and Marina Zasukhina
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
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Mother and Son
Russian Ark: The Masterworks Edition
Moloch
Confession
Spiritual Voices

ASIN: B0002V7OCE
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Amazon.com

There's nothing ordinary or everyday in the movie world of Alexander Sokurov, as fans of the Russian director's Mother and Son and Russian Ark are well aware. This film bears no literal relation to Mother and Son, but the sense of depth is similar. Father and Son appears to be about the separation of the fiercely devoted title characters, who look more like brothers. The son is newly in the military, which changes the dynamic in the apartment they share in St. Petersburg (the top-floor flat frequently leads them to the precarious-looking roof). Not a great deal happens, but anything on screen (however obscure) is always imbued with a force that suggests a life lived with more intensity than usual. Sokurov uses a burnished, sepia tone that makes the movie look as though it's already passed into memory. This film has nothing to do with storytelling, and everything to do with poetry. --Robert Horton

Description

From the Director of Russian Ark and Mother and Son, Alexander Sokurov, comes Father and Son. Following in the footsteps of his beloved father, Alexei attends military school. There, he begins dating a young woman, who becomes increasingly jealous of the intense relationship between the father and son.

Customer Reviews:

Heart Piercing.......2007-03-26

A thought provoking movie that truly touches the heart in ways unfamiliar to most people. Filled with a deep love between father and son but also the nagging devastation over the loss of a wife and mother. Makes everyone realize that in spite of our profoundly beautiful relationships that in the blink of an eye we can be alone.

who needs freud?.......2007-01-25

I watched this Russian father-son film in conjunction with the dark, Russian film of a similar theme entitled The Return. Both explore the father-son relationship, the latter one through the lens of patricide, this one through the tender but painful bonds of a very deep love. The two live together in an apartment after the death of the mother, and the film tracks how they both grow into their separate identities while maintaining an intense bond. Should the father leave his son, move to another city for a job, and take a new wife? Should the son follow his father's career path in the military? Does not the son's girlfriend take him away from the father? On two separate occasions in this film we hear the ambiguous and distinctly Christian notion, "A father who loves his son crucifies him. A son who loves his father sacrifices himself for him." This is the second film in a trilogy by director Alexander Sokurov that began with Mother and Son (1997). Sokurov attributed any homoerotic interpretations of this film to "sick European minds." In Russian with English subtitles.

sTRANGELY OVERRATED.......2006-09-06

I watched this movie out of curiosity for the new Russian cinema. I have also read some very ecstatic reviews regarding Sokurov's achievements in movie making. However having finished watchig Father and Son I was largely left flabbergasted by all the praise given this film. To me, this whole thing has never been able to go beyond the ambicious idea. Being a native Russian speaker I was able to follow the dialogue closely and was practically taken aback by the amaturishness of the way actors engage in talk. The conversations and acting did seem so unsettlingly contrived and insincere that several times my intention was simply to turn it off and be done with it. But somehow I've gotten to the very end of it. This was my second dissatisfied encounter with Socurov's work. The first one was Russian Ark, which, beyond its technical originality and scope, to me, amounted to little more than visual expression of Russian paranoia and the screaming desire to be accepted among the "cultured" of this world.

One of Sokurov's most difficult but rewarding films..........2006-05-07

The first time I saw this, I was expecting it to be just like Mother and Son. Quiet, long takes, not too many cuts, slow, etc., etc.. When I first saw this, I was perplexed. It has the most cuts I've ever seen in a Sokurov film, and it just seemed strange at the time. When it came out on DVD, I decided to see it again, and it's a great film. It's an entirely different film than Mother and Son, but it's still Sokurov. Many have claimed that there's a homoerotic tension between the father and the son, and Sokurov has dismissed this as the product of "sick European minds". He's right. The reason that people have interpreted this as such is because the father and the son don't look alike, they're only 20 years apart, the father looks young, and they're both in great shape. The opening scene is the father is having a bad dream, and the son awakens him. Then they embrace. The 2 men who play the father and son are in good shape, so I suppose that's why they thought it was homoerotic. It really is kind of silly. The film is the thing, here. It's about a widower father losing his son to adulthood and possible marriage, and being left on his own, which naturally saddens and scares him. The whole film resembles a dream more than anything, and its imagery is bathed in warm, yellowish hues reminding us of the sun. It's really a stunningly beautiful film, haunting and unforgettable.

beautiful and unbalanced.......2005-11-13

This film, like Sokurov's Russian Ark, is visually beautiful. Almost every frame is suffused with a gentle golden light; the buildings are stone but somehow soft and intimate, the city views shabby but lovely; the principle actors (all men) are beautiful, not just handsome. Everything is a feast for the eyes. This feast doesn't entirely satisfy.

As he did with Russian Ark, I think Sokurov has produced a piece of performance art. This film is even more beautiful than the other, though, and it's emotionally more interesting. There's really no plot; rather, we have a father who's grieving over the loss of his wife and a son who's coming to terms with the idea of loss. The father is young (mid-30s - he seems almost an older brother rather than a father), but he and his son (18 or 19) are coming to a point at which they must resolve some ambiguities in their relationship.

Have I made it seem that there's a story line here? If so, I've mislead you. There isn't. Questions are raised, situations arise, but nothing resolves. Nothing truly happens. That's okay, because Sokurov wants to examine the nature of intimacy and create an emotional mood rather than take us along a linear story. This is Art, to be appreciated as a whole and not just a frame at a time. The nature of intimacy is certainly front and center here. (The DVD even comes with an essay, "Sokurov's Vision of Intimacy"; I think that Wellspring decided that everything had to be spelled out for us lest we not understand the film. The essay is pretentious, obvious, and didactic; it would be at home in the Journal of the MLA.) The relationship between father and son is charged with eroticism, but there's nothing I could point to and say "that's beyond the normal bounds of family intimacy," even in a society as little inclined to such intimacy as ours. If it's Sokurov's intention that we think about intimacy, he succeeds brilliantly.

I've yet to see a Sokurov film that I really liked, let alone that I would recommend to my parents or to friends whose tastes I don't know well. I appreciate his talent. He's an artist of extraordinary skill, and I'll continue to watch his films out of appreciation for that skill. I love beautiful images and Sokurov provides them in abundance. His actors don't really act; he poses his actors rather than direct them. The one who plays the father in this film seems generally uncertain about what to do with his face, so he mostly wears a goofy smile. He doesn't let us know that anything much is going on behind his eyes. The one who plays the son is better, but he likewise exhibits little emotional range. Sokurov seems much more adept at handling the non-living elements of a shot than the living ones. Even so, I was actually drawn into the emotional world of this film, as I emphatically wasn't with Russian Ark. I recommend it to you if you're interested in film technique or if you're feeling meditative about human relationships or pensive about your mortality. If you aren't in a reflective mood, you really won't care for this.

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Difficult Choices Made In Wartime
A PASSIONATE WEEKEND
A complicated and moving tale
Haunting

A Soldier's Tale
Starring: Gabriel Byrne , Marianne Basler , Paul Wyett , Judge Reinhold , and Benoît Régent
Director: Larry Parr
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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Pictures in My Head
The Brylcreem Boys
Killing Emmett Young
Summer Fling
Defense of the Realm

ASIN: 6305835594
Release Date: 2000-05-23

Amazon.com

Gabriel Byrne puts his rough-hewn chivalry to devastating use as the self-appointed protector of a beautiful French woman unjustly condemned by her past in this sneakily engrossing WWII drama. Based on a well-regarded novel by M.K. Joseph, this somber, not particularly cinematic film feels more like an adaptation of a play, with a minimal number of locations and a relentlessly dour world-view (Judge Reinhold's exceedingly broad cameo as a quintessential ugly American does serve to lighten up the mood a bit, albeit probably not in the way that the filmmakers intended). This admirably focused film may be a bit too bleak for some tastes, but Byrne's decidedly unheroic portrayal and an unsettling end sequence make it well worth watching for viewers in a gray state of mind. --Andrew Wright

Description

For one brief weekend, their love was all that mattered. It is 1944, Normandy, and British commandos are advancing across France. Camped outside a small town during a lull in the Allied progress, platoon leader Saul (Gabriel Byrne) wanders into the surrounding countryside with his trusted corporal, Charlie (Paul Wyett). Spotting an isolated farmhouse, they come upon a strikingly beautiful woman, Belle (Marianne Basler). Belle coldly rejects Saul's obvious advances. Her discomfort turns to terror with the approach of three armed Frenchmen, who prove to be members of the Resistance. They claim she is a traitor, responsible for the deaths of many Resistance fighters. As they take her away, Saul decides to protect her, turning his gun on the Frenchmen. While the men wait, Saul realizes the hopelessness of his desire to save Belle from the Resistance--and he realizes that he has only one option left to keep Belle safe.

Customer Reviews:

Difficult Choices Made In Wartime.......2006-09-08

'A Soldier's Tale' released in '89 is a surprisingly good, little known film about a WWII soldier named Saul (Gabriel Bynes) who moves in with Blle, a beautiful woman (Marianne Basler)while his platoon is temporoary camped outside a French town recently occuppied by the Nazis. Belle is hated by the community for fraternizing with the Nazis and a group of male vigilantes stalk the poor girl waiting for a chance to kill her. Saul protects her while during his stay, but is consumed with the prospects of what may happen to her when his company moves out.

Will her desert and stay to protect her, find her a safe house where she will be protected or leave her to whatever fate awaits?

Hard hitting, honest look at the unexpected casualities of war and the colateral damage that takes place when the combatants move on.

A PASSIONATE WEEKEND.......2001-03-22

NORMANDY: 1944. World War II. Imagine yourself a soldier doing what you know best; kill. You kill without feeling for you know if your guard drops then you too will be dead. Your unit stops for a period of rest and you wander through the area. A farm house comes into your view and you see a woman. Only God knows how long you have been without one. Here's one for the taking.

Thus begins this complex story of a British soldier (Gabriel Byrne) whose encounter with an accused collaborator (Marianne Basler) stirs his passion and awakens within him feelings long buried. Transport yourself into time when war makes men into brutes, reduces religion to a mockery and denies people their humanity.

Gabriel Byrne and Marianne Basler give a remarkable performance as two accidental lovers caught up in the whirlwind of war in which there are no black and white answers. Your heart will be throbbing as you witness the dynamics of this couple. Themes of betrayal, objectification of women and lust emerge from this tale. This saga is outstanding in dealing with the emotions of soldiers, civilians and the church in a war which turns everything upside down. Witness this drama.

A complicated and moving tale.......2000-10-18

I watched this movie with no preconceived ideas and found myself drawn into the drama. Gabriel Byrne was superb as the soldier who comes to realize that all situations are not black and white even those that become life and death. Marianne Basler was also superb as the French girl whose great sin was loving a German soldier in the early days of the French Occupation.

I loved this movie, it was interesting and thought provoking. I highly recommend it.

Haunting.......1998-12-19

I watched the movie before obtaining the book: both are New Zealand works and superb entertainment. "A Soldier's Tale" is a haunting story by M K Joseph -- one you can't forget. Superbly filmed on location in France. I guess I liked it because it was plausible: the main characters were human: the heroine was a prostitute and a traitor, and the hero was a common British soldier faced with a horrible dilemma and forced to make a very inhuman choice. Superb tragic plot. Definitely get the book, too.

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La Hermana Blanca
Starring: Prudencia Grifell , Consuelo Monteagudo , Aurora Walker , Augusto Benedico , and Enrique Díaz 'Indiano'
Director: Tito Davison
Manufacturer: Laguna Films
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0001XAOY8
Release Date: 2003-12-16

Father of a Soldier / Otec Soldata [NTSC]

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Father of a Soldier / Otec Soldata [NTSC]
Director: Rezo Chkheidze
Manufacturer: RUSCICO
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

NEW MINT SEALED DVD, IMMEDIATE SHIPPING, FREE FIRST CLASS UPGRADE, LANGUAGE(s): Russian, English, French. SUBTITLES: Russian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese. I am NOT a corporation, dealership or some fictional "official online distributor", I am a private seller who values each and every order, I treat each customer as an individual and not as a number, thus I aim and provide a 200% service.

ASIN: B000N139XQ

Product Description

Description: The unnaturalness of war for humans, who are toilers and creators, is demonstrated through the life story of an old peasant wine-grower from Georgia. Georgy Makharashvili is on his way to see his son, a wounded soldier staying in hospital. But before the father makes it to the hospital, the son has already left for the front. However, Georgy cannot go back to his village. Together with the Soviet Army, he goes all the way to Berlin, to the victory over Fascism. There are Russian, English, French covers Awards: Prize for Best Actor (Sergo Zakariadze) at the Moscow IFF, 1965; Capitoline Jupiter at the Rome IFF Special features: Documetories "Parade on Red Square 7 November 1941", "Victory Celebration". Short film about Sergo Zakariadze, leading actor. Original Theatrical Trailers. Filmographies. Biographies.

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Who could not love this film?
one of the best 3-4 movies made in SU on WW2
A good human interest story.

Father of a Soldier
Starring: Sergo Zaqariadze , Vladimir Privaltsev , Aleksandr Nazarov (II) , Aleksandr Lebedev , and Yuri Drozdov
Director: Rezo Chkheidze
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Destiny of a Man
The Dawns Here Are Quiet
THE WINTER WAR (Talvisota)
House of Fools
Come and See

ASIN: B00006LPEN
Release Date: 2002-11-19

Description

This moving study of war's inhumanity follows the wrenching journey of Georgy, an old peasant winegrower who travels to see his wounded soldier son in the hospital. However, the son has already been sent back out to the front, sending Georgy on a trek with the Soviety Army all the way to Berlin to witness the toppling of fascism. This beautifully filmed and acted Soviet classic in the tradition of "The Cranes Are Flying" remains a pioneering work of cinematic art.

Customer Reviews:

Who could not love this film?.......2006-06-23

I viewed it twice to be sure my initial response was not simplistic affection for the main character, the lovable Georgy, a father and earthy fellow. I was really taken by the beauty in this film, the care of father for son. Here is a story of a proud papa who's drive to see his son throws him into unlikely challenges and a grueling pilgrimage through a world he was not part of. Yet, being an alien to the world he traveled through, he brought his values, unashamedly and refreshingly so, and touched many along the way.

Some have mentioned the vineyard scene in which old Georgy chastises the tankers and officers in a fit of righteous outrage over their lack of respect for the simple things, for a man's hard work, and for others property and the fruit of their labor. These are refreshing moral precepts to see on screen. Throughout, there are several similar lessons, yet they do not come across as contrived moralisms, but simply a part of who the man is.

Georgy is simply funny in his good humored way, and watching him laugh or sing the praises of his young son while boasting of him to whoever will listen is heartwarming. When he grieves, it is heart crushing. His dialog is peculiar, and even through the subtitles his mannerisms and dialect sets him apart as a foreigner in his own land. It's a sweeping drama of endurance, and well worth seeing. The final scenes are simply tear jerkers, even for this big, scruffy Texan.

As a home schooling parent, I like to keep a lookout for films that are beneficial for like minded folks. This is a film appropriate for the family, and for home schoolers makes a wonderful introduction to the social and political situation in the USSR at the time - though the political content of the film is largely soft peddled and idealized almost to the absurd. Read a Sven Hassel book (not to your children!) to get absurdity on the flipside. Some of the interpersonal customs of Russians and Georgians come across nicely, with subtle regional peculiarities and orders. Good, solid family patriarchy is heralded as a positive thing (and that is good, for a refreshing change!), and devotion, love and perseverance are championed.

Techically, I can't speak much for the sound design, for it seems a little poor, but perhaps this is simply a product of the film's vintage. The English language, should that be preferred over the subtitles, is very well done, capturing the nuances of the Georgian contrasted with the Russian language of most everyone else. I viewed both the Russian language with subtitles and the English dubbed version, and must say that the English dubbing was masterfully done, maybe not in technical perfection, but the dialog was fluid and believable.

A very strong WWII era film that should be on the shelves of any WWII historian's shelf, or anyone who loves a good story or timeless, basic family love.

one of the best 3-4 movies made in SU on WW2.......2005-07-15

You will not be able to find a slightest trace of soviet ideology in this movie, no matter how hard you try. If anyone knows soviet cinematography, will understand how unusual it is - especially for WW2 movie.
You see the war through the eyes of average Kakhetian (Georgian province) peasant, who knows very little beyond growing his grapes and making wine. Georgia was not directly touched by the war, so he can not imagine what horrors it helds and is about to discover them in his late 50s, maybe even early 60s.
when the bombing starts and Germans attack, he is lost and confused, until he sees how German soldier finishes off wounded Russian... he is appalled and in anger smashes the soldier's head with butt of his own jammed gun, and decides to stay on and fight...
Movie was almost put on shelf by censors because of the scene when the main hero (old Georgian(!) soldier) smacks across the face Russian NCO (for driving tank over vineyard). But fortunately Russian generals invited for viewing had more brains and insisted on releasing the movie. It immediately became a hit and for many years remained one of those movies which TV channels would show on May 9 or June 22 (SU was invaded on June 22)...
even last year, I was in Baku and was flipping channels at Hotel and was very surprised to come across Father of a Soldier being shown on main local channel...

A good human interest story........2005-07-07

Not at all a soviet propaganda piece. Filmed in the Crustchev years,the director just stuck to the human tragic drama.
That doesn't mean the movie doesn't contain any action, the action laces well into the story. The movie takes you through a heartwarming journey of an old man becomming a soldier, just to have the best chance, seeing his son again. Seeing his son again, is more than worth his own life, and his life becomes
part of the crusade to free russia from the fascist invaders.
He does not hate the german people, he hates the ideology that made beasts out of them. There is a wonderful key scene, where he
is trying to protect wine-stocks from being destroyed by russian
tanks, witnessed by german children: "You are germanies future, you have to have something to start over with !"
He finally meets his son again for the finall battle for Berlin.

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