Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Andrey Martynov | ... | Fedot Vaskov, starshina | |
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Irina Dolganova | ... | Sofya Gurvich |
Elena Drapeko | ... | Elizaveta Brichkina (as Elena Dropeko) | |
Ekaterina Markova | ... | Galina Chetvertak | |
Olga Ostroumova | ... | Evgeniya Komelkova | |
Irina Shevchuk | ... | Margarita Osyanina | |
Lyudmila Zaytseva | ... | Kiryanova, starshiy serzhant (as L. Zaytseva) | |
Alla Meshcheryakova | ... | Mariya, khozyayka kvartiry (as A. Meshcheryakova) | |
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Nina Yemelyanova | ... | Polina Egorovna (as N. Emelyanova) |
Aleksey Chernov | ... | Tovarishch 'Tretiy', mayor (as A. Chernov) | |
Viktor Avdyushko | ... | Pomkomvzvoda (as V. Avdyushko) | |
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V. Antonov | ||
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Svetlana Borisova | ... | Zenitchitsa (as S. Borisova) |
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Andrey Gribushin | ... | Soldat SS (as A. Gribushin) |
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T. Gunina |
Based on the eponymous book by Boris Vasilyev, the film is set in Karelia (North-West of Russia, near Finland) in 1941 during WWII. In a beautiful and quiet wilderness far from the front-line there is an anti-aircraft artillery point, where corporal Vaskov is stationed with a group of many young women in training. One of the women while sneaking from camp to visit her young son sees two German paratroopers. Vaskov takes five of the women to stop the two paratroopers, but finds sixteen paratroopers instead, leaving the small group of patriots to engage the enemy in an unequal fight. Written by Steve Shelokhonov
As I was working on a project on Soviet women in WWII, this movie was suggested to me by one of my professors who is a Russian herself. I was totally expecting some elaborate, romantic story, but I found the movie to be very realistic and consistent with my own research. This movie definitely highlights some of the general experiences and emotions felt by Soviet women soldiers at this time. I also enjoyed the many cultural references, for example to the film Tsirk. This film is a great tribute to all those soldiers who died in World War II, especially the women who I will never forget. I highly recommend this movie to anyone with any interest in Soviet history or WWII history.