Premier prix au Festival International du Film de Moscou, 1985
Premier prix et prix de la meilleure image et du meilleur son et de la meilleure musique au festival de l'Union soviétique, 1986
A feature by Elem Klimov made from the script by Ales Adamovich. It was released in 1985 and ranks among the most horrifying war films. It`s not only about the war of 1941-1945 exactly, but about any war, its devastating force sweeping away the natural course of things. The film is based upon documental facts and `The Khatyn Story` by Ales Adamovich. The authors describe the place and events which became a symbol of national tragedy. The hero of the film is Flyora, a sixteen-year-old boy that turned to the woods to help the partisans. At the beginning he is just a kid. Then he lives through the horror of the Nazi executions and becomes amazingly grown-up, and even old. The war had distorted the once tender childish facial features - it`s all wrinkles now. The altered face of Flyora is the face of War. The authors were so true-to-life, uncompromising and austere as to portray in the centre of the film not some grown-up man, but an unexperie nced kid with his childhood still here. Source : www.ruscico.com
