Set on the Eastern Front during World War II, this film revolves around a Hungarian soldier by the name of "Lombos Mihaly" (Gabor Makray) being denied a much-needed furlough and sent back to the front lines where he is subsequently captured during combat by Soviet soldiers. Feeling betrayed by a Hungarian Jew named "Ziffer Lajos" (Tamas Varga) he lashes out at him and is subsequently beaten by the guards and forced to clear minefields as punishment by "Commissar Anatol Kozov" (Geza Bodor). Although death seems a near certainty, Lombos remains hopeful of one day returning home if for no other reason than to find out if his wife has remained faithful in his absence. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an extremely interesting film due in large part to the way the director (Zoltan Fule) managed to portray the horrors of war from the soldier's point-of-view on the Russian Front. Quite remarkable. Admittedly, it does bog down to some degree around the middle stages and the ending wasn't quite as good as I would have liked, but I enjoyed this film for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.
Review of Dear Elza!
