Watch Our Own For Free

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

As is typical of so many Russian made war films the acting and cinematography is outstanding and the depiction of Russian village life during the war is realistic,I tend to find the quality of these movies superior to what Hollywood puts out but then films of this nature might not click with the American public. The actors look like real people and the plots lack the melodrama and symbolism of too many American made films in general. Implying sex doesn't seem to be enough in the good old USA either but I think in this film it is handled quite well. We know what they are going to do and have done but rather than the overacted graphic stuff that appears to be required in US films, the act itself is left to the imagination. The plot centers on a group of three prisoners who escape the Germans during the first year of the German invasion. They hide out in a Russian village and struggle to survive in an area where the Germans are in control and friend or foe among peers is difficult to discern. From the Germans to the Russian village girls all of the actor's depictions are spot on. That's one of the things I love about these films.Extremely well done and to all involved in the film I say bravo! .

There is no war like one fighting on your land. When everything you know or hold dear is in danger, the loved ones, your home, the graves of the dearly departed. " Our Own" is a hard, uncompromising look at the Second World War, without embellishments of ideology, just sharp, focused description of the horrors and people who either live them or create them, or sometimes both. In the early days, in the summer of 1941, three soldiers escape from Germans and hide in the near by village, the home of one of them. There is no glory nor propaganda in this tale, just blood, guts and tears. And fear, thick and smelly,that eats the soul and dirties everything it touches. And it touches one and all, without mercy. Great movie.

This is a WWII movie that deals more with the dilemma many people dealt with who lived in areas like Finland, the Baltics, Poland, the Ukraine, etc. Basically, they found themselves sandwiched between two totalitarian regimes. While some obviously saw the Nazis for what they were, to others, the Nazis where seen as liberators from Stalin's repressions. For instance, if your whole family had either been sent off to the gulags or starved to death due to Stalin's collectivization of agriculture, anybody who would free you from the people who perpetrated that sort of evil had to seem like saviors.Best I could tell, the movie takes place either in present day Finland or the Karelia region of Russia. One of the characters in the movie is referred to as a Chekist. To those who may not be polished on their early soviet history, the Cheka was the predecessor of the NKVD. Actually by the 40's, the Cheka had already been incorporated into the NKVD. Anyway, this is an important fact to know to understand the relationship between two of the characters in the movie and why they distrust each other.If you have seen the Finnish film Kukushka and liked it, you will likely also enjoy this film.

I'm sure 'Svoi' (or whatever it is in English) is the best Russian movie of 2004. Actually i wasn't ready for the impression this film would make on me. 2004 was a great year for the Russian cinematography, we had a lot of good movies but this one seems to be not as commercial and blockbuster-like as many of them. Khabenskiy is becoming a real star cause he is in almost every film shot last year. He's everywhere but i like him and think that it makes him just better as an actor. The very beginning of 'Svoi' is a bit confusing because of shots with the soldier head smashing by the tank. By the way the film is really naturally made. I mean you should be ready for some shocking moments. The movie itself is good because of Stupka, Garmash & Khabenskiy's acting, fantastic music and unusual photography. Watch it and you'll see why it's so good, so Russian.