Juana
74, female, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

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18 Man
Sweden Stockholm
Watched the movie today. It's just so powerful gripping and touching I didn't know what to do with myself. The director made it so perfect, I didn't think that you could do it so well as he did! This will be on my mind for quite a while more I can tell you that!

25 Male
United Kingdom (South)
I think it is one of the best World War 2 movies made along with Schindler's List, Europa Europa, Stalingrad and Soldier of Orange.
Very real and brutal, I remember wathing this film as a young child and it traumatizing me especially the church scene.

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Lithuania
24
Female
This is hands down on of the best WWII movies i've seen. So gripping, heartbreaking and realistic you just can't stop thinking about it.

Female
48
Colorado Springs
The BEST movie on WW2. Next choice is Ivan's Childhood. I also like Forbidden Games. I think that any movie made by Hollywood on the second war outright sucks with the exception of "Holocaust" and the various Holocaust scenes from "War and Remembrance".

Germany is not represented yet, so:
M 23
Germany
I do not consider myself as a fan of anything, I am more a fascinated person.
"We made history more interesting"

Florid, US looks like us southerners are representing.
27
male
One of the greatest films ever made.

i am 18 and live in Michigan. Absolutely love this film.

Im 34 From the UK (Close to London).
As someone with ties To Belarus (my wife is Belarusian), who has been there many times, stayed in countless villages very similar to those filmed and have family relatives that lived through experiences similar to this film, I find this film to be both emotinally heart wrenching, authentic and amazing.
My wifes relatives especially here granmother have some amazing heartbreaking stories of similar tragedys (scorched earth, bombings, shootings ect), breaks my heart but fascinating all the same.

I`m from Ireland and I just turned 19.
This movie is a hard-hitting masterpiece.

From: Chicago, IL
Age: 23
Gender : Gay male
I've seen a picture from this movie in a book on Cinema I was given as a Christmas gift back in 2000. For years I've been curious about it, and after subscribing recently to an online dvd rental service, I noticed it was available and decided it was time to give it a shot.
This really is an excellent movie, I'm very suprised it is not more well known.

US Baltimore MD currently but previously in FL, IL, NM, and CA
50
Male.
Not sure "fan" is the right expression: I deeply admire this film and recommend it to those I think would appreciate it, but I'm not a fan in the same way I am of Goodfellas or Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World!
Jack, you have debauched my sloth!

UK
21
Female

-Montreal
-17 going on 18 in a month.
Nothing else quite like this film.

Does anyone know the story behind this movie being made?
Here you have the director talking about the film:
This is also included on the DVD as an "extra".

It was a small budget Soviet film. Klimov had lived through the siege of Stalingrad during WWII and was influenced by that. He also spent time in Belarus learning about the massacres prior to beginning filming the movie.
My answer comes from the Wikipedia page on Klimov(I'm not quite sure how accurate it is, but some of the info on the page has references) and from the Guardian newspaper's obituary for Klimov(there's a link for it on the Wikipedia Klimov page, and it's definitely worth a read, especially the last paragraph where Klimov is quoted describing the siege. I included the links below
Elem Klimov's wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elem_Klimov
The Guardian obituary:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2003/nov/04/guardianobituaries.russia

brazil, 22
This signature represents a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

Oregon, USA
33 year old male.
Great movie timeless and universal for sure. Does anyone know the story behind this movie being made? Was it big-budget? Soviet, Belorussian, independent?

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Moscow, Russia
32
male

Republic of Serbia
20 years old
Male
This may sound as a cliche, but words cannot describe the greatness of this movie. A total masterpiece.

London UK
Male
21