Not a real good film. Ya it is interesting to see this perspective of WW2 (19 year old conquering Russian returns to Germany) but I think the direction and lack of decent technology really drags the film down. Yes it feels like a 1968 GDR film. More so we get no hint of the heinous side of the Great Patriotic War ... and the Red Army was heinous. It was like they were liberating the Polish and German people ... oh joy! 6/10
shareThere IS the so-called hint in it. The German girl asks to spend the night at commandant`s office. She says to Gregor, "Being with one is better than being with every one." From their earlier conversation in the film, we are told that the girl is from Pomerania. As far as I'm concerned, the hint is pretty obvious. The hero is a refugee from Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union at the age of 8, definitely not a Russian. He goes to war as an antifascist German.
The Allies liberated Nazi German occupied area, and the Soviet Union is the major part of the Allies. The Russian Red Army actually did liberated east part of Europe.
It is a pity you don't get it. This film is an example of excellence in every sense. It is a GDR production, a "must keep" on WW II subject. Thumbs up!