I don't get the high ranking for this film. It's often ranked as among the best war movies of all time. In fact a lot of the film is rubbish. The scenes around the village massacre are spell binding but you have to sit through 100 minutes of boredom first. My 4/10 is for the final 45 mins. If the rest of the film had been to that standard it'd be 8 or 9/10.
Here's what happens in case you want to fast forward to where the film gets good:
1. Kid digs hoping to find a weapon to join the partisans. An old man warns kid not to dig as it'll bring trouble.
2. Kid finds weapon and is delighted to join up, his mother is distraught.
3. Kids is with partisan unit but when they move out he falls behind.
4. Kid hooks up with young girl who was also left behind. Germans bomb area and drop paratroopers.
5. Kid and girl shake trees to get the water for a shower. He decides to bring girl back to his village before looking for the partisans again.
6. At village the girl discovers that the kids family along with many other villagers have been massacred.
7. Kid jumps into a swamp, girl follows. When they get out of the swamp they discover survivors from the village including the old guy who warned against the kid digging for a weapon.
8.Kid gets a haircut and buries his hair. The villagers build and spit on an effigy of Hitler.
9. Kid and three of the male villagers head off with the effigy to find food. Germans fire at them but they make it into the woods.
10. They use the effigy to set a booby trap for the Germans at a crossroads.
11. Two of the group are killed in a minefield.
12. The companions arrive at a village and steal a cow from the local police commander. It's great fun before being pinned down by machine gun fire. The kids companion is killed and he's also once again. The cow is also killed.
13. The next morning the kid heads out in the morning fog. He finds and takes a horse and cart much to the annoyance of the local farmer. Germans arrive, he hides his rifle and tunic. The farmer brings him to the local village and gives him the identity of a villager.
14. The Germans arrive at the village. They take what they want and round up the villagers. The kid tries to warn the villagers that they'll be slaughtered. The villagers and the kid are herded into a large barn.
15. The kid climbs out of the barn window and is held by the Germans. The people in the barn are slaughtered while the Germans enjoy themselves. The kid and a few other villagers are forced to watch in horror.
16. The Germans raze the village to the ground. After being forced to pose for photos with a gun to his head the kid is left behind.
17. The kid returns to where he hid his rifle and tunic and retrieves them. It's in the aftermath of a battle where the partisans have routed the Germans. His girlfriend is there, she's injured and traumatised.
18. Several Germans have been captured. They were responsible for the massacre in the village. The Germans try to blame each other to save themselves. The partisans kill them all.
19. Footage is shown of real Nazi atrocities.
20. The kid puts a bullet into a portrait of Hitler.
21. WW2 footage is shown.
22. The kid is visibly aged and traumatised but he continues with the partisans.
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