I know it is a little unfair for me to give this movie the review that I am giving because during the time in which this film was released I'm sure its message and its story was a lot more provocative and emotional, but for me (as a viewer in 2021) I have seen other movies tackle similar war subjects in a deeper and slightly more meaningful way.
The movie is very very well made in terms of technical aspects, but the biggest issue I have with the film is that it leans heavily towards melodrama and characters overacting to get a point across. The editing is also a little bizarre at times where the dramatic effect of certain scenes is lost by a shot not being held long enough or sometimes the juxtaposition of certain shots is a little confusing. Without spoiling it, there are certain plot points in the movie that I had entirely missed because the movie was a bit too vague or the editing lost the intent of the moment. Some of these moments aren't too important, but some of them were crucial to understanding the film's story.
A minor spoiler, there is a scene in the movie where our protagonist discovers that her parent's house has been bombed. However, the delivery of the line and the execution of the line doesn't inform the audience as to what happened and makes the scene rather confusing. Instead of our protagonist looking in horror and saying "Oh my goodness, this is my neighborhood" she is casually talking to a friend, looks down the road, says "Oh, this is my neighborhood. Yes, I'll see you at the factory tomorrow." and then casually walks down the neighborhood for a few seconds and then the music gets dramatic and she starts sprinting! There are many moments like this in the movie where the acting and the intent of the scene is sometimes lost.
All in all, I think it is a fantastically shot film and it has some really impactful and emotional moments and well executed scenes, but as a whole, I have to admit that I was really hoping for a bit more out of the film.
The movie is very very well made in terms of technical aspects, but the biggest issue I have with the film is that it leans heavily towards melodrama and characters overacting to get a point across. The editing is also a little bizarre at times where the dramatic effect of certain scenes is lost by a shot not being held long enough or sometimes the juxtaposition of certain shots is a little confusing. Without spoiling it, there are certain plot points in the movie that I had entirely missed because the movie was a bit too vague or the editing lost the intent of the moment. Some of these moments aren't too important, but some of them were crucial to understanding the film's story.
A minor spoiler, there is a scene in the movie where our protagonist discovers that her parent's house has been bombed. However, the delivery of the line and the execution of the line doesn't inform the audience as to what happened and makes the scene rather confusing. Instead of our protagonist looking in horror and saying "Oh my goodness, this is my neighborhood" she is casually talking to a friend, looks down the road, says "Oh, this is my neighborhood. Yes, I'll see you at the factory tomorrow." and then casually walks down the neighborhood for a few seconds and then the music gets dramatic and she starts sprinting! There are many moments like this in the movie where the acting and the intent of the scene is sometimes lost.
All in all, I think it is a fantastically shot film and it has some really impactful and emotional moments and well executed scenes, but as a whole, I have to admit that I was really hoping for a bit more out of the film.