Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

lchadbou-326-26592 "Italiano Brava Gente" the original title of this film (literally, Italian man good people) is what a Russian says, an hour into the story, when his partisans beg their WWII Fascist enemy to lend them a doctor to help an injured fighter. Because it required an international collaboration, including participation by Hollywood producer Joseph Levine, to make this epic, the doctor is one of several leading roles played by American actors, in this case Peter Falk, who despite dubbing of his memorable voice into Italian, gives the most striking characterization. The movie was directed by Giuseppe De Santis, an important figure in the history of neo-realism who is unfortunately not as well known as his more prolific colleagues De Sica, Visconti, or Rossellini. In a series of episodes, such as the one mentioned with the doctor, all drawn from authentic military memoirs, De Santis who also co-wrote brings across the overriding theme that the common Italian soldier, skeptical about his government's attack on the Soviet Union, has actually more sympathy for, and more in common with, the Russian peasants and workers on the other side than with Mussolini's supposed allies the Germans. In one scene an Italian soldier who likes the Communist anthem The Internationale actually plays it on his harmonica which leads to the Russians singing along- a moment comparable to the famous one in "Casablanca" where the Marseillaise is sung in defiance of the Nazis. In contrast, there is an elite group of shock troops, called the "Superarditi," brought in to reinvigorate Il Duce's assault, and the role of their balding, crippled, fanatic officer is here played by another U.S. actor, Arthur Kennedy. I watched this movie partly as an homage to the recently deceased Russian actress, Tatiana Samoilova, who is prominently billed but in the longest subtitled version I've been able to see (137 minutes) has only a couple of big scenes toward the end, as the woman one of the deserting Italians hides with underground; after the Germans, with whom it is mentioned she had been fraternizing, have started their hectic retreat, she is afraid of being caught by her fellow Soviets. While we had a brief glimpse of her with a German earlier, it seems that some of her footage may be among what was cut, when the movie was edited down from its original full length of 156 minutes. While there are a number of vivid images in this film, the climax, in which Cossacks mounted on horses hurtle by against the remaining enemy, is especially impressive.

marklv Having seen this film/movie in its original language, of which I am a fluent speaker, I am left with the impression that this is little more than propaganda. The Russians are portrayed as valiant heroes and heroic, unrelenting fighters, or else as cheerful, happy peasants who are subjected to brutal exploitation by demonic Nazi troops. The Italians appear as annoyed and unwilling soldiers, far kinder than the 'evil' Germans, but totally naive about war. Once you ignore the obvious political connotations of all this, the film is actually quite entertaining; certainly a good war film, though nowhere near the great Hollywood epics. In reality, by 1942, no less than 300,000 Italian soldiers, comprising 12 full strength divisions and support staff, were employed in southern Russia, guarding the northern flank of the German offensive towards Stalingrad, alongside Romanians and Hungarians. All the Axis allies forces - not just the Italians - lacked sufficient artillery or adequate winter equipment and motorised transport. Consequently, when the Russians launched their Winter offensive, it was directed against these weaker forces rather than the Germans. It was not surprising when these forces broke and ran in disorder. Morale was also not high - most of the soldiers were poorly educated peasants who were badly treated by their superior officers.The film is worth watching as an example of seeing 'the other side' engaged in a war that most Brtiish and Americans know relatively little about. Just make sure you ignore the pro-Soviet tone.

Vfmd I know from my family history how accurate and painful this movie is. It shows "Italiano brava gente" which means "italian good people" as the Russians called the Italians .It is an antiwar movie worth watching and thinking about. It is a portrait and reminder of the brutality of the German allies who abandoned an entire army in the most frigid winter Russia had known in a long time. It is a reminder that the complacency of a people allowed a dictator, Mussolini, to send about 120,000 soldiers to Russia without winter clothes and to commit many other crimes. It is a reminder that war is a horrible thing, albeit sometimes just, but never right.

BFo Saw it as a teenager and still remember lots of "action" that ALWAYS ended badly for the good ones. Full of unbelievable incidents, which give the spectator hope - but end in sudden catastrophe or in other sad ways.Have never before or later seen a film, that so much could make a young, male spectator realize, that war is no fun.