Absolutely amazing

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Sitting down to watch this movie with no idea of what was to come, judging directly from the cover, I was expecting a Soviet war epic full of nationalism and destruction of fascism. The first scene of Alyosha did not disappoint in that aspect, and I was prepared to sit through another generic war flick. But then things changed dramatically when he asked to go home. From then on out it was a play of emotions. From the emotions that the people Alyosha was running into were experiencing, to the hard anxiousness of Alyosha trying to get home and running into seemingly impossible obstacles the entire way. A range of emotions were experienced. The man missing a leg was heartbroken that his wife would have to deal with him for the rest of her life and didn't want her to go through it, only to find that she was overjoyed to see him again regardless of what had happened. Anger and resent was felt from Alyosha as he discovered an unfaithful wife still living in her husband's home. Anger and resent soon switched to hopefulness by the father of the soldier Alyosha met upon leaving the front. But the most powerful presence in the film was the constant fear in the back of your mind that time was quickly running out for Alyosha to see his mother, missing a train here, dealing with a transport soldier there, having to deal with the German attack on the train. All of the anxiety and time crunch came to a head when Alyosha could only hug his mother and speak with briefly just to have to get back onto a truck and go back. Imaging the pain of a mother not seeing her son for months on end, not knowing if he's dead, alive, wounded, or captured just to see him for a few fleeting moments is heartbreaking. What I felt this movie portrayed was the separation of people. War is one thing, but the longing, heartbreak and hope that is held by loved ones behind the lines is so powerful and rarely touched upon by movies. Hands down one of my favorite war movies of all time.

Ballad of a Soldier is about Aloysha, a young private in the Soviet army that is granted some time to go visit with his mother. The movie follows the people that he meets on his journey home, even falling in love on the way. The whole time you are rooting for Aloysha to make it in time to see his mother before his time runs out—making you emotional invested in his journey and his new relationship with the girl he meets along the way. Additionally, the movie depicts the hardships of war without actually showing any attacks. And instead of taking a soldier and trying to portray him as a hero, Aloysha is portrayed as a human being with flaws and fears. Because of this, I found this movie very real and enjoyable. The main character was lovable and I found myself invested in his story.

Everyone should wish it his or her last film in life before taking the last breath as it's enough to awaken the greatest realization in life that we are riding in a train like the soldier with a destination. On the way we make love and on the same way we lose him or her, because this "temporal world" is the place for all sort "transient relationship". We are running after so many valuable stuffs like catching soap bubble in the staircase like heroine. Time to time the film will put you reality and also in romantic fantasy. It's a phenomenal experience. "Thirst" for love will keep you waiting and admitting that you are in love without saying a single word. Trust me! In you life you'll also realize that some people are not worth of any gift like the soldier depicted here. On the other and, some people worth more than you are going to sacrifice for them, which was depicted through the one legged soldier. In some part of your life, you are just a "hero", who has transcended everyone and everything. But, in the next place, you'll find yourself as asshole, because this is how life works out and, you and me no exception of it as we are under the normal distribution at the end of the day.

For me this is a beloved movie, one that I have just seen for the third time and no doubt will see again after time passes.A 19-year-old Soviet soldier who knocks out two Nazi tanks is offered a decoration by his general. Instead the soldier, Alyosha, asks for a short leave so he can travel home to see his mother and fix her roof. Along the way he meets a variety of vividly portrayed characters. One of these is Shura, a pretty young woman. They fall in love, are separated when their train pulls out without him, are almost miraculously reunited, and finally are separated for good, without his having ever declared his love for her.Having helped a number of people during his journey and encountered various delays, Alyosha finally arrives at his home village with only minutes remaining before he must rush to catch his train back to the front. The few moments in which he and his mother embrace are heartbreaking--particularly since we already know from the voice-over that opens the movie that he is doomed never to return home.He is not the only casualty of war. During his journey home we see many casualties. While not a grim picture, "Ballad of a Soldier" gives a sense of how the Russian people suffered in World War II.It's been called an antiwar movie, but there is a deeper theme, etched in sharp relief by the forces of war on ordinary people. We are reminded of how fleeting is youth and the beauty of young men and women, and how precious is the little time we have to experience the joys of life. There is a profound sadness in this movie.Back in 1959 when this film appeared, the late critic Stanley Kauffmann dismissed the movie as superficial and snidely remarked that director Grigori Chukrai would be happy working at Twentieth Century Fox. It is easy to be cynical about the earnest expression of emotion. I tend to believe, however, that, unlike Mr. Kauffmann, the great Anton Chekhov would have been genuinely moved by "Ballad of a Soldier."