So much average

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

I see that there are some people who really liked the movie. I respect their opinion and I condone it. But based on my criteria for cinema, it does not rise to, even, average. Is this a football film? Is it a love story? I did not get it. It is only sad that in Europe of the 21st century, people from the arts and the academia may be used so unscrupulously for one state's government propaganda. To represent or educate about history trough artistic cinematography takes a great deal of honesty and responsibility. Here I must acknowledge the following: Academy Award winner, the producer of Schindler's List Branko Lustig, who is of Croatian/Jewish descent, turned down the offer to produce the movie....And that speaks volumes!

The exact goal of that movie is simply to make people who are unfamiliar with those events to form a wrong idea. In all languages that approach is called propaganda. Macedonia today, being a Former republic of a communist state masters this art of propaganda quite well. As a consequence, people living there are totally brain-washed and can't even realize that not all other folks are like them. So, Bulgaria, my dear fellow, does look to the future and though not with a perfect past (what country can claim a perfect past) specifically in this case has very little to be ashamed of. First, because none of the nearly 50,000 Bulgarian Jews were sent to the concentration camps and second, Bulgarians preserved their ethnic roots, while the so called Macedonians allowed to be turned into an artificial nation created by the Soviets and Tito communists. It is a historical fact that the Nazi deported the Jews from Macedonia. And history can't be changed, but it can be misrepresented, only for a while. The real question is can Macedonians forgive themselves for doing nothing to save their Jewish population and can they forgive themselves for forgetting the ethnic roots of their grandfathers? I doubt it because it would require knowledge of real history which is not appreciated in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. And as long as this lasts, Bulgarians will keep giving negative votes for lame movies like this one.

I agree with some comments that this movie is a lame copy of many movies with WW2 theme and very similar to the Serbian Montevideo bog te video regarding the main male acting role football player in pre and during the war era. But if you see it that way, you have missed the message and aim of this movie, and that is that Bulgaria as Germany partner in WW2 do some unforgettable crimes towards humanity , although not to their owns Jewish people but to their occupied territories - Macedonia. This is the main idea that should never be forgotten. That is why Bulgarians are making negative votes and critics creating such atmosphere so someone not involved in this can make wrong opinion about the movie.So my dear fellows Bulgarians do not be shame of your bad past, look towards the future,because we forgive you for what you have done to our neighbors and us.The question is can you forgive yourself for that.And yes we beat you in football every time since then till now.

I would not dare to say that movie is an eye opener, unlike my fellow Anonymous New Yorker. I would not even believe someone educated enough can say that a movie (any movie) is an eye opener. A movie is a movie and can't be a substitute for real knowledge, book reading and history research. From this point of view I would agree with those who said that this specific movie distributes ideas meant to be planted in the minds of people who think movies (this one specifically) can open their eyes. This is the targeted audience and with a reason. "Bulgaria was a fascist country after all, during World War 2 at least" - oh, well, but so was Germany, Italy, Romania, Hungary, France, because of its collaborative government, etc. I would say so was even Yugoslavia since it signed a treaty with Nazi Germany, much the same as Bulgaria did, but then there was a coup there which dismissed that treaty shortly before Germany invaded. In the same train of thoughts one can say - Macedonia was a communist country after all, for much longer time than Bulgaria was a fascist country. And we know that there is only one small step going from fascism to communism. In a way Macedonia continues with the policies of the communist past even today. So what, do we need to find another eye-opening movie for that? I gave 2 to that movie only with respect to the effort some of the artists put into it. Otherwise, for me at least it is just serving a political agenda.