"Die Russen kommen" is an East German movie from 1987. Well, it premiered in 1987 because it was forbbidden before, but the truth is that this film is from approximately 20 years earlier, which is also easy to see if you take a look at the ages of the performers in here. In the mid/late 1980s, they were of course considerably older already or even dead, but sadly for some of them also a fairly untimely death. Anyway, I already mentioned the ban and this was a bit of a controversial film in general. For example Heiner Carow, the director and one of several writers as well, said later on that he would not want to be associated with the film and he was not proud of it at all. Nonetheless, it is one of Carow's most known works even now in the 2020s. And the fact that it was really not seen by that many people, as you can see from the number of votes here on imdb, makes it obvious how forgotten large parts of GDR cinema are. Especially political movies. I think it's rather fairytales that more people remember. After watching this one, I cannot say I am bothered too much by this film being forgotten. But I will get to that a little later. Here it can still be said that the title of course means "The Russians Are Coming", which is also the international title for this film. And it should not be confused with the lighter American production that actually got made almost at the same time. But these films really only have the war component in common. Otherwise, they could not be more different. I already mentioned Carow as a writer here, but his two co-writers have this listed as the last work from their (not so) long and prolific careers, which is of course not accurate again as this is by definition really a 1960s movie. Also it is based on a novel by Egon Richter and this is the only work from him that got turned into a movie. When it was actually released in the 1980s, it was a pretty big success at the prestigious Eberswalde Film Festival, one of the biggest in East Germany.
If we take a look at the cast, it is a mix of East German actors with some Russians as well and even one actress from Switzerland. So roughly the expected mix you could say. The lead actor here is Gert Krause-Melzer and he has never been in a movie before or after this one here. A bit surprising honestly, but who am I to judge. If he is happy with whatever career choices he made, then it's all good. I see he is also still alive today and apparently turned 70 last year. Igor, the key Russian character was played by Viktor Perevalov. He had a more prolific career for sure, but is no longer with us. Died quite a while ago. I think his face had great recognition value and looking at how he is back near the end of the film unexpectedly (or his character is), it is kinda telling how memorable and crucial his character here is although he really did not have a lot of screen time at all. In terms of screen time, it is very clear that Krause-Melzer's Günter is the one and only lead here. All other supporting characters also feel rather minimal, which also applies to the guy who took the deadly shot to (apparently) kill Igor and he is also back at the very end again. I cannot say too much about the actors here, simply because I am neither an expert on GDR movies nor on Soviet films, but feel free to check out their bodies of work. Many of them are of course not with us anymore and that is not a surprise as this film is over 50 years old now already. Others have had a hard time to stay in acting after the end of the Cold War and Fall of the Berlin Wall. A fate many filmmakers and actors were facing back then. Director Carow, however, managed, an okay transition you could say. By the way, this is a black-and-white film as also becomes obvious from the poster here (interesting motive by the way, also with the blood-red letters) already and that also shows you how old this is. Old it may be, but it's not a particularly long film at 85 minutes or so and that already includes closing credits. Which were admittedly pretty brief.
Let me elaborate a bit on the plot and story here now: I personally struggled slightly with the realism department which is why I would also say that the rating here on imdb is much higher than it should be. I also have a feeling i will not like this film more on rewatch, apart from me having zero intention to give it another watch anytime soon. Probably never. There are several examples where I felt that they sacrificed realism for dramatic purpose and the consequences was that the film did not feel too authentic. Just take the example of the early arrest basically and how the protagonist is so lucky there that the car is blown up by a mine or something and everybody in there is dead (or almost dead), but he is pretty unharmed. Or at the very end, as I mentioned earlier already, how the boy ends up in the exact same cell as the former Nazi group leader who shot the Russian boy. Way too much of a coincidence here I would say. This scene, despite being one of the most important scenes of the film, was also one I did not like at all. I did not feel as if they gave us the necessary background and story and elaboration to make it feel accurate and realistic that the boy now all of a sudden has not only lost his own Nazi background and dedication, but has also turned into enough of a brute by all he has seen that he is ready to kill the old man (he looked a bit like a mix between Curd Jürgens and Christopher Plummer there). "Old man" seems an accurate description, but he has aged more than I would have expected honestly, simply because the boy barely aged at all. Strange. One thing that was interesting for me and maybe among the very best aspects here was how they used certain media to get in the vibe. I am mostly referring to other films popular back then and also certain music choices. I also liked the framework with the sea basically how this is where the film starts and also where it ends. Also okay that they did not force a romance story, gotta dig deep here for the good.
In general, I have a hard time though to really see why this film was controversial enough to really get banned. I do agree that the title is maybe not the most Russian-friendly as it does sound a bit like an invasion and as it is a full-on ((anti-)war) drama, there is nothing light to the title. But the reason alone that Russians here were not depicted as 100% of a friend says in a pretty sad way that the ban hammer back then was used way too frequently. I don't even think Russians are depicted badly here or anything. Just neutrally. Accurately, you could say I suppose. But there may be inclusions that I have not perceived from a political perspective because at some point I also lost a bit interest honestly. I don't need constant action, but I think this movie could have (or should have) been a much better character study and it came fairly short there. To me, reading about the plot and story here was much more interesting honestly than they way they put that story on the screen. Somehow I feel emotions are missing completely. War is bleak I get it, but I never cared for the characters, for who is going to live or die and for what would happen next to the central character for example. Or how I was not one bit sad about the suicide (letter) of another relatively central character. I really would have liked to be. The better scenes honestly, like the previously mentioned first arrest, were overshadowed by weaker inclusions. Like how near the very end Igor with his very light hair is all of a sudden together with the blonde girl that plays a major role here and there as well. Or actually not really, but she is much more memorable than her screen time would indicate. She has that in common with Igor or the actor who plays him I could say. The film's title is also a direct quote from her.
Generally, I am a sucker for films set during the Nazi regime and this one here from what I have read about the plot also brought an interesting story that got wasted a bit here. Maybe it's time after all these years, actually decades with this being over half a century old, to remake it eventually. I hope they can maybe get a more memorable lead actor then because I somehow feel that the lead performance here was a key reason why I never really developed any interest unfortunately. I cannot say I am mad at the previously stated fact that he quite acting right away, maybe also because this film was not allowed to be shown, which could have helped his popularity and probably also a massive disadvantage and burden for other filmmakers to cast this boy if his only credit was the lead in a banned movie. But back to the contents: There are three or four okay scenes that are slightly memorable (mentioned a few earlier), but even there we have the disadvantage that they are not too authentic and realistic. For quite a while, it was assumed that the complete version of this film was lost, but then they somehow found parts and managed to restore it and what I saw last night (or actually this morning) on television was said restored version that honestly looked really good. They did a fine job there I would say. So the technical side with this one is certainly on a higher level than the film itself. I must still say that I have not read the book (probably not too many have), so I cannot compare the outcome here with the written version. I kinda feel the latter is probably not inferior though. Or at least I hope so. This film is by no definition a failure either, but for a positive recommendation I would have expected more. The weaker and more forgettable scenes were simply way more frequent than the strong moments. I wanted this to be better. Go skip the watch this time, especially if the genre and time in which it is set are not your area of interest either. For me they are, but it still wasn't enough. I cannot say I was particularly sad that this clocked in at comfortably under 1.5 hours.
If we take a look at the cast, it is a mix of East German actors with some Russians as well and even one actress from Switzerland. So roughly the expected mix you could say. The lead actor here is Gert Krause-Melzer and he has never been in a movie before or after this one here. A bit surprising honestly, but who am I to judge. If he is happy with whatever career choices he made, then it's all good. I see he is also still alive today and apparently turned 70 last year. Igor, the key Russian character was played by Viktor Perevalov. He had a more prolific career for sure, but is no longer with us. Died quite a while ago. I think his face had great recognition value and looking at how he is back near the end of the film unexpectedly (or his character is), it is kinda telling how memorable and crucial his character here is although he really did not have a lot of screen time at all. In terms of screen time, it is very clear that Krause-Melzer's Günter is the one and only lead here. All other supporting characters also feel rather minimal, which also applies to the guy who took the deadly shot to (apparently) kill Igor and he is also back at the very end again. I cannot say too much about the actors here, simply because I am neither an expert on GDR movies nor on Soviet films, but feel free to check out their bodies of work. Many of them are of course not with us anymore and that is not a surprise as this film is over 50 years old now already. Others have had a hard time to stay in acting after the end of the Cold War and Fall of the Berlin Wall. A fate many filmmakers and actors were facing back then. Director Carow, however, managed, an okay transition you could say. By the way, this is a black-and-white film as also becomes obvious from the poster here (interesting motive by the way, also with the blood-red letters) already and that also shows you how old this is. Old it may be, but it's not a particularly long film at 85 minutes or so and that already includes closing credits. Which were admittedly pretty brief.
Let me elaborate a bit on the plot and story here now: I personally struggled slightly with the realism department which is why I would also say that the rating here on imdb is much higher than it should be. I also have a feeling i will not like this film more on rewatch, apart from me having zero intention to give it another watch anytime soon. Probably never. There are several examples where I felt that they sacrificed realism for dramatic purpose and the consequences was that the film did not feel too authentic. Just take the example of the early arrest basically and how the protagonist is so lucky there that the car is blown up by a mine or something and everybody in there is dead (or almost dead), but he is pretty unharmed. Or at the very end, as I mentioned earlier already, how the boy ends up in the exact same cell as the former Nazi group leader who shot the Russian boy. Way too much of a coincidence here I would say. This scene, despite being one of the most important scenes of the film, was also one I did not like at all. I did not feel as if they gave us the necessary background and story and elaboration to make it feel accurate and realistic that the boy now all of a sudden has not only lost his own Nazi background and dedication, but has also turned into enough of a brute by all he has seen that he is ready to kill the old man (he looked a bit like a mix between Curd Jürgens and Christopher Plummer there). "Old man" seems an accurate description, but he has aged more than I would have expected honestly, simply because the boy barely aged at all. Strange. One thing that was interesting for me and maybe among the very best aspects here was how they used certain media to get in the vibe. I am mostly referring to other films popular back then and also certain music choices. I also liked the framework with the sea basically how this is where the film starts and also where it ends. Also okay that they did not force a romance story, gotta dig deep here for the good.
In general, I have a hard time though to really see why this film was controversial enough to really get banned. I do agree that the title is maybe not the most Russian-friendly as it does sound a bit like an invasion and as it is a full-on ((anti-)war) drama, there is nothing light to the title. But the reason alone that Russians here were not depicted as 100% of a friend says in a pretty sad way that the ban hammer back then was used way too frequently. I don't even think Russians are depicted badly here or anything. Just neutrally. Accurately, you could say I suppose. But there may be inclusions that I have not perceived from a political perspective because at some point I also lost a bit interest honestly. I don't need constant action, but I think this movie could have (or should have) been a much better character study and it came fairly short there. To me, reading about the plot and story here was much more interesting honestly than they way they put that story on the screen. Somehow I feel emotions are missing completely. War is bleak I get it, but I never cared for the characters, for who is going to live or die and for what would happen next to the central character for example. Or how I was not one bit sad about the suicide (letter) of another relatively central character. I really would have liked to be. The better scenes honestly, like the previously mentioned first arrest, were overshadowed by weaker inclusions. Like how near the very end Igor with his very light hair is all of a sudden together with the blonde girl that plays a major role here and there as well. Or actually not really, but she is much more memorable than her screen time would indicate. She has that in common with Igor or the actor who plays him I could say. The film's title is also a direct quote from her.
Generally, I am a sucker for films set during the Nazi regime and this one here from what I have read about the plot also brought an interesting story that got wasted a bit here. Maybe it's time after all these years, actually decades with this being over half a century old, to remake it eventually. I hope they can maybe get a more memorable lead actor then because I somehow feel that the lead performance here was a key reason why I never really developed any interest unfortunately. I cannot say I am mad at the previously stated fact that he quite acting right away, maybe also because this film was not allowed to be shown, which could have helped his popularity and probably also a massive disadvantage and burden for other filmmakers to cast this boy if his only credit was the lead in a banned movie. But back to the contents: There are three or four okay scenes that are slightly memorable (mentioned a few earlier), but even there we have the disadvantage that they are not too authentic and realistic. For quite a while, it was assumed that the complete version of this film was lost, but then they somehow found parts and managed to restore it and what I saw last night (or actually this morning) on television was said restored version that honestly looked really good. They did a fine job there I would say. So the technical side with this one is certainly on a higher level than the film itself. I must still say that I have not read the book (probably not too many have), so I cannot compare the outcome here with the written version. I kinda feel the latter is probably not inferior though. Or at least I hope so. This film is by no definition a failure either, but for a positive recommendation I would have expected more. The weaker and more forgettable scenes were simply way more frequent than the strong moments. I wanted this to be better. Go skip the watch this time, especially if the genre and time in which it is set are not your area of interest either. For me they are, but it still wasn't enough. I cannot say I was particularly sad that this clocked in at comfortably under 1.5 hours.
