A Russian Youth

The First World war was a tragedy that launched a series of severe tests for the Russian people: revolution, civil war, famine, political repression, the Second World war. And all this fell on one generation of people. What courage and patience did those people must have had in order to survive all the upheavals of the XXth century? What was their character like? What they must've been thinking and feeling? These questions are asked by the authors of the film "A Russian Youth". The film tells the story of a simple village boy who goes to the front of the First World war with a naive youthful dream of fame and medals. In the first battle he loses his sight. He is left to serve as a listener - he must listen carefully through huge metal funnels and raise an alarm in case of enemy airplanes' approach. Back then the basis of the Russian Empire army was wormed of peasants and working class - people with a characteristic appearance, who lived lives of hard physical labor. Many ...