Franz + Polina (2006) User Reviews

The futility of fighting to survive!!!

[ohlabtechguy · 8/10 · 12 January 2019]

WWII drama that starts out slow, gains momentum and then becomes riveting. Takes place in Belarus, a country between Russia and Poland. The two leads are young, charismatic and highly talented actors. As a fledgling couple, they are hopelessly at odds with both the Nazis and the Russians. It becomes a tough juggling act to stay alive without blowing their cover as they run through the forests and bogs hiding from the Nazis, the Russians and native Belarusians. Grim cinematography enhances their bleak struggle. The ending offers little hope about the fate of mankind; so I lowered a well deserved 10 rating to 8.

A haunting Romeo & Juliet story.

[wiltvid · 10/10 · 10 February 2007]

Bjelorussia 1943, A German SS unit is billeted in a small village. Frantz stays together with an older Sergeant in the home of Paulina's mother. Besides the Paulina, the mother and the 2 German soldiers there is nobody else living in the building. Paulina's father and brother are with the partisans in the surrounding forests. Paulina's mother takes good care of all inhabitants like mothers do with love and compassion. Good that she can't understand the older sergeant's prejudices. Hitlers propanganda maschine instructed the German soldiers to treat Russian peasants like untermenschen (subhumans). Not all German soldiers bought those lies, and Frantz is one of them. The sergeant clearly displays some insecurities regarding this policy. Those insults are merely lost, because there is a language barrier. Frantz seems to ignore his sergeants opinions, and starts to flirt with Paulina. The sergeant is not a brute or brawler, more a prisoner of the time. He has a good site, shown when he fixes mechanical devices in the house, like an old defective watch. Everything seems very peaceful at first, until the order arrives, that the village has to fall victim to the "burnt earth" strategy of the retreating Wehrmacht. What happens now, would be a spoiler to tell. I just covered the first 10 minutes of the movie above, what's gonna unfold is a heartwrenching , very suspenseful, and actionpacked development. Americans would probably describe it as COME AND SEE (idi i smotry) meets ROMEO & JULIET. That's all I want to give away about this incredible story. The photography is very beautiful, viewers will be surprised, how beautiful the location is, where the movie was being made. As a Canadian, almost all of the actors where unknown to me, but they did a superb job. Specially the mother impressed me the most. I do not think that Hollywood could have pulled out a story like this with this much decency and true to life performances. No formula's , not the run of the mill yarn, just a very good story. I was captivated and glued to this film. Russia new wave cinema is the future !

Compelling War-Drama-Romance

[Chagoi · 9/10 · 21 April 2020]

German soldier Franz and Belorussian villager Polina fall in love, she gets pregnant and they try to survive in the wilderness and with other refugees. Beautiful character development, plot and cinematography. It would be a 10 if not for the downer ending that implies Franz was murdered, which only makes their struggle seem like it was all for nothing. A hopeful ending would've served the story better.