Waste of time

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

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

Many Americans suffered enormously on account of WWII. My own grandmother, who didn't have an easy life through the Great Depression, once said that the most difficult event in her life was sending two of her sons off to battle in the faraway Pacific theater. One of them ended up in Bataan.As hard as the war was for so many Americans, including my grandmother and my uncles, I believe that it was even more difficult for the Russians as a people. The terror of war came to their very doorsteps, civilians and warriors alike, and it was inescapable for them. Regardless of any specific political situation or attempt at propaganda by either side, I think that this historical fact must be objectively recognized and respected.A "ballad" is a form of poetry, and, for me, "Ballad of a Soldier" is where poetry meets the camera. At the very beginning, the mother of the young, hero soldier who is the central character of the film looks out at the one unpaved road that leads in and out of her village. Somewhere at the end of the road, where ever that may be, is her beloved son. Overhead is an unforgiving sky, representing a sense of the power that controls all.On the battlefield, we are terrified by a tank that is determined to chase our hero soldier through the countryside until he somehow manages to secure a position in order to destroy it and one other. Recognized by his superiors for his heroism, instead of a medal he requests a furlough pass to say farewell properly to his mother and to fix her leaking roof. It is granted for only a few days. Under the time pressure, the viewer witnesses his long, harrowing journey home from the front, experiencing the chaos, displacement, and hardship of the war on civilians and soldiers alike. In the mayhem and the confusion, he also manages to find true love at a most unexpected time and place.I am sorry that this film was unavailable to me as a ten year old child in 1959 when it was produced. Aside from the political climate that prevailed at the time, which was mostly filled with fear, perhaps I would have been old enough to judge that Russian people were of the same flesh and blood that I was and that their lives, not only as Russians but as human beings, were affected very seriously by the horrors of war. While it would have been a very important lesson for me at the time, it did not come too late for me 57 long years later. This is a beautiful movie. See it!

During World War II, the nineteen year-old Pvt. Alyosha Skvortsov (Volodya Ivashov) destroys two German tanks in the front and the general gives a medal to him. However Alyosha asks for a leave to visit his mother instead of the medal and the general gives six days to him. During his journey home, Alyosha helps a cripple dashed veteran to meet his wife; embarks as clandestine in a train and falls in love with the stowaway Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) that is traveling in the same wagon to visit her aunt; meets the unfaithful wife of Pavlov, a soldier that is in the front and misses her, to give soap to her. When he arrives home, it is time to return to the front in a journey with no return. "Ballada o soldate" is a film with the heartbreaking story of the return home of a teenage soldier to visit his mother and repair the roof of her house. Alyosha is charismatic and very gentle. The plot is realistic and the dramatic conclusion is very sad. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "A Balada do Soldado" ("The Ballad of a Soldier")

The Ballad of a Soldier is a war drama that reveals the effects of war on Russia during this time period. It is a very interesting film in that it is a story told in a very short amount of time. Although the time to get to know the protagonist of the film, a young and eager soldier, is short, his character takes no time to fall in love with. The main character of the film represents the qualities of a good soldier: he is loyal and faithful and obedient and caring. His good character makes the ending of this film all the more heartbreaking. Though this movie is a war drama, the genre may also be argued to be of the romantic drama. The main character falls in love with the girl he is traveling with; however, the movie also becomes a tragedy because he never sees the girl again when they part. The plot of the film contributes to its message of the devastation of war. One of the most interesting parts of the film is how the movie is told in past tense: it is told at the beginning of the film that the main character will never return home. The film is tragic in its ending but overall still a very well told story. The film does a good job in plot and character development.

During World War II, Pvt. Alyosha Skvortsov (Vladimir Ivashov) receives a commendation for his heroism, and elects to take a four day leave to visit his mother. Ballad of a Soldier follows him along what should be a simple train ride, but turns into a masterpiece of beautiful humanism. The story not only follows one soldier, but through his encounters it also exposes Russia as a whole during wartime, from his talking in the soldiers only train-car to when he finally returns to the village and hears from the wives left at home.Ballad of a Soldier manages to span an entire culture and war in just four days along a train track. While director Chukhraj must remain loyal to the Party, he manages to still show the flaws some soldiers had, while showing how some could be truly selfless. During one encounter as Alyosha is caught, he is forced to give away his rations to a greedy guard, and the guard's commander catches the bribe in the act. Rather than punishing the hitchhiking Private, the commander punishes the greedy guard and allows Alyosha to carry on his journey.In the span of just four days Alyosha falls in love with a girl, while in the span of just 90 minutes the viewer falls in love with Alyosha and his story. The announcement at the start of the film that Alyosha is dead makes his experiences all the more impactful, knowing that he will never return home again, and assuming that he may never see his love Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) after he leaves her.Alyosha is an idealization of what many Russian soldiers were: Young, and willing to give anything for their country. He is both brave and fearful, and along his epic trip he never hesitates to give help to those around him. The favor is returned to him by civilians such as a truck driver whom he rides with, eager to support a soldier in any way they can. Through his story, soldiers and civilians alike are immortalized, in their sacrifice during World War II.