Bene Cumb In "socialist" times Russian films were always and everywhere, with very few Western films shown, thus, in recent decades, I have not felt any particular urge to (re)watch Russian films, especially post-Soviet ones. But we all have our weaknesses and curiosities :) plus incidents happen... Svolochi is meant to be a historical film, about WWII in the rear area far away from actual battles (somewhere in Kazakshtan), but it has turned out that it is all pure fiction - presented not very convincingly, with the exception of Russian crime scene and obscene language perhaps (not accurately translated into English). Reactions to the boys' behaviour and language by military personnel are odd, if not more, and adult military characters are atypical to the Stalin era - they seem hesitant, weak, speaking mostly gently, and the actors performing them are not front-rank... The ending dating back to 1943 is hectic and airy-fairy, and the very ending is quite ridiculous, taking into account modern opportunities in finding former acquaintances.The film is "saved" by two good performances - Alexander Golovin as Kot and Sergey Rychakov as Tjapa; they squeeze the best/most out of this inconsistent story and focusing on their chemistry enables to wend your way through this 1.5 hour film without wtf! attitudes. But still, Svolochi is not a film you definitely must see, particularly if you have some knowledge of Russian values and language.

dbborroughs On the box Bastards (its English title) was billed as the Russian Battle Royal. Actually this is closer to the Dirty Dozen with kids. The premise of the story, which is at least based in some truth, is that during the Second World War the Soviets took the kids they arrested with Capital crimes and gave them a choice be shot or atone with blood, ie. take on suicide missions (something the Soviets really gave their criminals). They are brought to a mountain top training facility where they are trained by military men, some of whom are in equally dire circumstances. The film follows some of the boys and some of the trainers. Its an often nasty look at the cost of war, and of the soviets. Its clear that the boys are not afraid of anything, at least until faced with death because of some things they've done. The fear is used to some extent by their trainers who execute anyone who doesn't do what they are suppose to or in one case kill another boy they owe money to. The film mostly concerns the training but in the late stages we watch as several boys are sent out on a mission and their trainers, who now view the boys as sons, wait to see if they will return. This is a good little film. The film for the most part is all about the characters and thats where the film scores. The kids are the right amount of cocky and fearful.The adults are nicely tough, loving and bewildered. Its a good mix. The action when it happens is good. If there is a flaw its that the film is too breezy at 97 minutes which left me wanting to see more of many scenes at the training camp. That said the film is worth a look.

Geoff O'Callaghan I was surprised by the quality of this film. Sure, the ending was hyped, but just look at American films. (Boys on bicycles flying past the moon?) Why can't foreign films use a little hype now and then. Nobody seems to claim this is a true story, and it isn't. It is a boys' fantasy. Perhaps a bit too much blood and gore to get a PG rating, but part from a few swear words (Mother who?) well I've seen worse. Quite a few kids are killed and suffer violence, Not much worse than "Goblet of Fire" really, but I think, if anything, they pulled their punches in the training scenes. Real kids commando training is very much rougher than they showed. I'd be happy for teens over the age of fifteen to watch it. The film deals with the subjects of attitudes to boys, boy bashing, and the use of child soldiers. It also has a lot of moral issues that can be discussed. On the whole, I'd like to see a film with English dubbing. it would be worth it. Well done, guys. The kids acted well, too.

Master_of_My_Domain Well, I was very eager to see this film after seeing "9-ya rota" few months ago, and as much as I liked the latter - I was so disappointed with "Svolochi". First of all, this film is not a war drama. Yes, it ends with a sabotage action, it happens during a WWII times, but it is more drama than a war genre. From its beginning we get to meet bunch of (probably) homeless, parent-less boys, simply trying to survive in the starving war-time Russia. In pursuit of food nothing can stop them, and they don't hesitate to kill anyone standing in their way without mercy. No, they're not ruthless murderers, not yet, but given a chance to grow up - they will become one. Some of them got caught, and they were sentenced to death. However, in the same time, Soviet military is trying to build a special one-time-use commando groups, consisting of such underage criminals. So the boys are given a chance to "redeem their crimes against Soviet Union". They went through extensive training on a deserted, remote base, where friendship and partnership ties bind some of them. Once the training is over, they are sent on a suicide mission to destroy German gasoline supplies somewhere in Romania (IIRC), and here we get to the point, where the entire movie's premises become unbelievable. I can understand that the Soviet military wouldn't hesitate to use children as soldiers, but its highly unlikely that they would have ever sent bunch of kids - no matter how well trained - on a mission of such importance. Nevertheless, the boys are sent to action, where their entire platoon is wiped out while still in the air on parachutes. Guess this: the commanding officer sacrificed all of them just to enhance survival chance of his 2 favorite boys! Thats another unbelievable hole in a script, but there's more: the two favorites somehow managed to accomplish their mission, destroyed the enormous gasoline supplies, and escaped unharmed! I know, sounds like a teenage Rambos ;) Well, I must add, that one of them does get hurt after all, but neither the landmine, nor the giant avalanche can touch them. If not for these unbelievable Hollywood-style twists of the action, I would have like this flick. Don't get me wrong - the performance by most of the boys is strong, the cinematography is good, the special effects are sufficient, but what kills this movie are those little nifty unbelievable things, where the film loses its credentials of serious film-making. And thats where I have to say I'm sorry to Mr.Atanesyan and Mr.Kunin: I don't buy your story at all.3/10