First, this is not a first rate award-worthy film, German cinema has been doing much richer productions. I didn't find it bad, though. Some of the actors are rookies, there is basically just one set, but the screenplay is intriguing.
Instead of the Battle of Stalingrad, the usual place for the Russian-German frontier on WWII, we get German soldiers in an Ucranian village that used to be German 200 years ago. Only woman and children live there at this point. They are well received, fraternize...all the women want is to survive. The young German are as decent as you could expect during wartime.
The film would be a short if this was it. Obviously, an episode triggers a whole different scenario, as we are reminded that it is war, and nothing good comes from it, even if people try to avoid the worst. The rest of the story makes no concessions. Women may be interested as this is a rare war movie in which they are a major part of the story.
Instead of the Battle of Stalingrad, the usual place for the Russian-German frontier on WWII, we get German soldiers in an Ucranian village that used to be German 200 years ago. Only woman and children live there at this point. They are well received, fraternize...all the women want is to survive. The young German are as decent as you could expect during wartime.
The film would be a short if this was it. Obviously, an episode triggers a whole different scenario, as we are reminded that it is war, and nothing good comes from it, even if people try to avoid the worst. The rest of the story makes no concessions. Women may be interested as this is a rare war movie in which they are a major part of the story.