4 Tage im Mai

Berlin has fallen, the leader of the German nation has passed into eternity, and the surrender of the German armed forces was expected with each passing day. No one is rushing into battle anymore because who would want to die just before the end of the war? Actually, only the clean-up remains. However, a group of German soldiers who have gathered on the shores of the Baltic Sea do not want to surrender to the Red Army. They are not enticed by the prospect of infamous Siberian labor camps and forced work. They are considering escaping by boat to Denmark, where British captivity offers a considerably more favorable future. The Soviet captain does not press them. He, too, lives with the prospect of an imminent ceasefire and does not want to risk a clash against tenfold superiority. Moreover, he has enough worries of his own. His group has settled in an orphanage, and a German boy would like to experience the battle firsthand and gain some military fame. 4 Days in May is an intimate war film that focuses not so much on the grand epic picture of battle and war machinery, but rather on the personal dramas of people who must cope with the loss of a familiar world, new responsibilities, and above all, the question of whether and for what they should die for at the very end of the war. It is an inconspicuous film at first glance, but it is emotionally impactful, and it has left a mark on me. Overall impression: 90%. (03/03/2021)

After a very long time, I finally lived to see a story from the Second World War which managed to knock me out completely. WWI and WWII can actually still tell stories that will make you stop dead in your tracks. During the war, anything was actually possible, which is one of the reasons this movie could be created. Honestly, I am surprised anybody from Russia actually acknowledged this film. If I were Russian, I would be embarrassed until my dying breath for what my nation did. But I understand it’s a problem of an individual. But when it comes to the Russians it doesn’t really matter. I don’t really want to spoil the movie here, but the first half of it sets a clear atmosphere that stagnated a bit in the expectation of the end of the war. The second part of the story came just in time and it really made me turn on all my senses at 1 AM, because everything happening there has crossed the lines of humanity and logic. This film might just be the weirdest one in the world cinematography because of the most absurd story ever made on the backdrop of the Second World War. (27/09/2018)

It's quite interesting how it's possible to make a war film without necessarily making it intense, without having combat scenes, yet still making it powerful enough. And that's actually just because it's about people and about the role war puts them in and the power it gives them, or takes away from them. Very good characters that can pull you in. (13/04/2016)