Not even bad in a good way

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

On the road to Berlin (2015) obviously has a rather meager budget compared to modern, even Russian, war movies, which necessarily isn't a bad thing but hinders some of the effect of this film.Plot is rather run-of-the-mill tale of friendship, chaos of war and bravery - and it is hardly surprising that the film is based on a short story/previous Soviet war film. Especially Lt. Ogarkov as a character seems a bit implausible in his actions. Also the love story-bit seems slightly inserted, to the point of being a trope. Despite this, the interplay between two main characters - the condemned and his Kazakh guard - works. Especially Amir Abdykalov as somber private does a fine performance. And I have to say I haven't seen many central Asian roles cast in any war films portraying the European Eastern front despite the fact that the Red Army fielded plenty of soldiers from there, often in quite subordinate roles.Visually speaking low budget unfortunately shows in the two grand battle scenes which come out as unintentionally comical - a better solution would've been simply shoot them so that the viewer doesn't see so much of the awkward props from the smoke and chaos.Fortunately the film makers don't dwell on combat, but emphasize the strong points of cinematography - beautiful sense of "being there" when it comes to Russian summer. Lush forests, fields, misty riverbanks and small villages of the countryside translate marvelously to the film.

This film has been made with a modest budget . But there is no modesty in the themes it so tellingly portrays . All the clumsiness of huge organisations , all the nobility of the individuals that have to deal with that clumsiness .A small masterpiece .

I'm interested in Russian Media's perspective of the Great Patriotic War and from that perspective this is a good period piece. More so this film … like other recent Mosfilm and Star Media productions … is well produced and utilizes very appropriate actors. So this film … clocking in at a puny 82 minutes … is by no means a waste of time.That said this story does not make sense to me. I mean is there person out there that gets wrongfully sentenced to death for cowardliness that is so cooperative … so honest … so noble? Seriously! At one point he trades his prize possession … his Grandfather's pocket watch … for a new pair of boots for his captor … the guy marching him of to death??? There are several other examples of Ogarkov's silliness. His character doesn't no make sense and because of that the plot is seriously damaged.A few interesting notes: This appears to be a remake of an early 1960's Mosfilm production entitled Dvoe v stepi (Two in the Steppe). Additionally the film gives credit to the war diaries of Konstantin Simonov so there is some history here.In summary … interesting look at Russian WW2 culture but pretty silly … 6 of 10 stars POST: To show IMDb what I think of their disabling their message boards, I am vowing to stop using Amazon's pay per view service! Google Play, VUDU and Netflix are excellent alternatives ... and are often cheaper. Thanks IMDb ... way to treat your dedicated customers who want to share their passion for films and history!

I am a big fan of Russian cinema but this movie fell short of my expectations. An officer accused of cowardliness is sentenced to death and the soldier assigned to guard him and he go through several adventures.The film is watchable but I never really identified with the characters or grasped the point. The plot was bland and the battle sequences lack the intensity and realism I have seen in other Russian films. Too many cliche's and far fetched scenes. There are some technical issues such as that I think German Tiger tanks are shown where in 1942 they were not yet available. During the river crossing scene where it is supposed pitch black there is a part where the boy and guard are shown in bright light. It also seemed odd that at times the two walked around in the wide open when in areas crawling with Germans.The convicted officer goes from being terrified in wake of his expected execution to being fully complaint to the authority of a single guard of whom he could have escaped from or overpowered at many points. Eventually the two connect so strongly that when the guard dies his prisoner goes to the authorities to accept his fate. Far fetched and the relationship is not well depicted by the actors.Overall the filmed just had a rushed feel to it as if the directors and cast were going through the motions to knock the film out.Finally, why the title Road to Berlin? The very end is in Germany but nothing in the plot really has anything to do with the drive to Berlin except that the war ends there.