This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good movie but grossly overrated

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It's painful to watch. It's like a comics book without a superhero. Bad production design, poor acting, childish plot, predictability, etc.

Most of the reviewers missed the point. This is a movie about young Russians gaining a vivid appreciation of their history and their grandparents that fought for their nation's sovereignty.While the main character has an academic interest in the Great Patriotic War (WWII), the war and those that fought are only as valuable to them as the money their artifacts will earn. The elderly woman appears out of nowhere, representing Mother Russia, gives them milk, and leads them to the lake that sends them back in time. Mother Russia herself teaches them to appreciate the sacrifices of those that have gone before.Unity and Nationalism are strong themes as the 4 say more than once that they have to return to the lake together and bring Sokolov's cigarette case (the past) with them in order to move forward into the future. True to non-American movies, some good people have to die. I was just surprised it wasn't one of the 4 young men.I liked it and would recommend it to others.Background: I have watched many foreign movies and speak Spanish, English and Russian. I have been to other countries and come to understand that unless you become familiar with the histories and cultures of other nations, you will see their history incorrectly through your own cultural eyes.

I just watched this film yesterday at the mini festival on the occasion of 9th of May (Victory Day).There were only 4 reviews prior to this one for this movie.Only one review was displayed by default, where reviewer (presumably from another background, not a communist one) slashes the movie as non- worthy. This is absolutely not true.I would argue that if one is to truly understand this movie, he has to either be born and develop in a communist/post-communist regime (such as myself - SFRJ) or be an avid movie fan or be a professional movie critic.This movie at my age (39) and with my family (wife + 2 kids) has profoundly confirmed the ominous situation with Neo-Nazism in Europe and grave future which (possibly) awaits us all.****** spoiler alert ****** Aforementioned reviewer has agitated me, because this movie is not about time travel logic or anything about that. It is but a mechanism to show us deeper meaning.

I was a little skeptical about this film and believed it could have been something already told. I mean, future people go back and learn about themselves - its been done before (I am looking at you Marty McFly).What I found made me look at my own environment with different eyes. I was mislead by another reviewers comments about imagining present day men in black and though it to be about 'our present day occupied by an enemy'.But the story strikes to the values that many seem to hold in a different regard. Today we have t-shirts, mugs and screen-savers paying homage to tyrants, maniacs and killers of years ago and the swastika is tattooed on quite a few arms. I can only imagine how our forefathers, having participated in major conflicts with some of these people would perceive our society which they fought and many died for.The hero's of the story collect war trinkets for a quick sale at the local pawn shop, they play PC games depicting war scenes and yet it is only after their journey that they truly appreciate the horror of war, the sentiment behind the trinkets and the real human effort that goes into earning the war medals they retrieve from the ground.That is not to say the film tries to make the present day ashamed of our activities, but engender a deeper appreciation for the gallant efforts of those before us for the love of country and friend.It should be shown in many schools, I do fear one day the US will find this film and try to make an 'English version', of which I am sure they will not do it justice.