Robert Hipolito

It's the most brutal, devastating, and sad film I've ever seen. I saw the restored version, and I have to admit it is visually beautiful even though haunting at the same time. The story is simple, like any other war story plot we've already seen before, but it's the way it's presented to us that is very very different. So crude and realistic, the filmmakers did not hold back at all. The Director and Writer, both experienced those horrors themselves when younger. And it shows, because watching this film is like traveling back in time and reliving their memories. Feeling the same fear they felt, going through the same trauma they went through; hearing the same sounds, seeing the same horrors. You can tell the realism in every bullet shot in the forest, every falling explosion with debris flying at the camera. The actors, most of the time, felt like they weren't acting anymore, but actually reacting to everything going on. It's beautifully shot, the sound design is more than just immersive, the simple story is shown rather than told, the acting is amongst the most genuine I've ever seen; and the events that happen throughout, the set pieces, are unforgettable. A war film that feels like a superbly crafted horror piece. I'll never be able to watch another war movie the same, see bullet shots the same, nor listen to Mozart's Lacrimosa without thinking back on this film. War is a horrible horrible horrific thing, and I think this is the only film out there that does it justice; the only one that portrays it as it really is and makes you feel along with the characters in it. It's an important film that I think everyone should have a chance to see, it teaches you to really understand what war means. If more people could see it, perhaps less people would wage war.