Saturday, October 15, 2022

The North Star (1943)

Second viewing; previously viewed on February 12, 1995.

 In 1941, the Germans invade the Soviet Union. In a small village in Ukraine the inhabitants are preparing to resist the invaders; part of them head for the hills where they form a guerrilla group; the rest stay in the village. A group of villagers must deliver the guerrilla a load of ammunition. Meanwhile, the Nazis are taking the children and forcing them to give blood to their wounded.

Propaganda piece which takes a few liberties with the facts. It's a lot less unlikeable than I found it previously, though. The cinematography is excellent, and the film has stunning imagery aplenty, especially in the first part, which is practically a musical showing the idyllic village life before the invasion. The remainder is more action-oriented, showing the villagers' heroics. The ironic aspect of the movie as viewed today is that now the Russians are the invaders in Ukraine.

Rating: 35 (up from 8)

No comments: