Such a frustrating disappointment

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

1944 (2015) This Estonian made war film takes place during July to November 1944. It starts with the battle of the Tannenberg Line where German and their Allied forces try to hold back the advancing Soviet Red Army.The film follows a small detachment of Estonian troops who are fighting for the Germans. The battle is hard fought and results in massive losses to the Red Army. The Red Forces are however far too great and the Germans and Estonians are forced to retreat towards the coast. The first 45 minutes or so follows this group during the battle and retreat.The film then shifts gear and follows another group of Estonians, this time the men are part of the Red Army. There is a brief fight between the two groups that ends once they realize they are all Estonian. The group fighting with the Germans withdraws leaving the field to the Red Army side. Now the film follows the Estonians who are fighting with the Reds as they advance.The politics in play here are the same for both sides. In 1940 the U.S.S.R. annexed Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia all at the same time. (The Soviets received a bloody nose when they tried the same move on Finland) The Soviet occupation had been brutal with many killed or shipped off to camps. When the Germans swept through during their 1941 attack on the USSR, they were looked upon as liberators by many.When the Germans put out a call for men to join an all Estonian unit to fight several thousand men signed up. (Several thousand more were drafted) Most join to get some payback on the USSR. The men fighting for the Reds were men drafted into the Red Army in 1941, or offered freedom from the camps if they fought for the Red Army. Both sides just wanted the war to end.The film is quite well made with excellent attention to weapons, uniforms etc. The battle scenes are all well handled with plenty of pyrotechnics on display.The film is a look at a rather unknown (in the west) story of World War Two and is worth the time imo.

One Author wrote the following: "Well, I first thought this is some anti-Russian propaganda because of the recent conflicts. But then I realized this movie actually shows that war is wrong in general"Well, I agree with the part that the movie shows that war is bad in general but I cannot understand how someone does not see this film as anti-Russian/Soviet propaganda! I liked the idea of the film when reading the Storyline but I was very disappointed about the simplistic drawn picture of good vs evil.Probably the most filmmakers tend to make their home country look good, brave and proud but this movie goes one step too far. At the beginning there is a battle where a team of about 10 Estonians defeat about 100 Soviets with about 10 Tanks. All Soviets are running around like chicken not hiding behind their tanks.Later during the film, there are a lot of scenes and stories in which the soviets are shown as the pure evil. There is the soviet-warplane that attacks repeatedly the fleeing civilians instead of attacking the Military Truck. After the last turn its even aiming precisely at one single child in the field – but fortunately the brave Estonian soldier risked his life and saved her. Leaving aside that this is a huge waste of ammunition, I can't imagine the soviets were that evil killing small children on purpose. Than there is the bad Soviet-leader who gives an order to shoot five boys and than shoots the Estonian soldier who refuses to do this.It looks like the producers collected and strung together all nightmare stories about the soviets and put it in this movie. In summary, this film tells us that the Soviets bombed cities although having no armed forces inside. They deported simply every Estonian to Siberia and killed the rest while they were fleeing. But the typical Estonian soldier was a smart and brave hero. If history could only be that easy…The soviets were definitely not the good ones and do not have to be defended. And here we do not talk about history, but about filmmaking. Most actions were so predictable that we even began to guess right how the single scenes were going to end. Like in these bad horror movies.To be fair, I compare it to movies that had a 20 times larger budget. Knowing that, the pictures are very well done. But the script misses the two possible targets. For an good entertaining movie like for example "Saving Private Ryan" it's just too predictable. But for an anti-war movie, it paints a too heroic picture of one side and misses the chance to show that in a war both sides suffer from it.

This is already a second movie about war that I watch coming from the Baltic countries. First being the Lithuanian "Ekskursante", which I enjoyed very much. And now this one - the Estonian "1944".Well, I first thought this is some anti-Russian propaganda because of the recent conflicts. But then I realized this movie actually shows that war is wrong in general. People are caught between two fronts. And non of the sides are right. Both have their dictators and cruelty. So, in this movie, in the example of Estonian people, you can see how people of the same land taken by different parties, are obliged to shoot each other.It's a good movie that shows we're all victims when it comes to war. I enjoyed cinematography more or less. I think it's a fine piece of movie for Estonia. I'm not used to expecting anything of high quality from Baltic countries, but it looks that Baltics have evolved to meet high standards of today's cinema.So, in a few words, it's a good war movie, with a plot full of drama and combat scenes. Was worth a watch.

Nothing special really, a no-nonsense patriotic war movie which apparently is supposed to prove that almost all Estonians who fought in WWII (be it for the Reich or the Red Army) were top notch individuals. It would be unthinkable that a movie as simplistic in message as this would be made in any Western European country nowadays but that's what you get when you are not allowed to tell certain stories during the 45 years of Soviet occupation era. Most countries got WWII movies like this out of their cultural system in 1960s-1970s I guess. In fact the director has also said that his main message was to make Estonians proud of their country and nation so maybe it can be excused that the movie never really rises above this level in terms of plot and characters.The most impressive thing was the budget: 1.9 million euros. They did get free support in mass scenes from the defense forces but still the movie looks excellent for such limited resources.