The film tells the story before and after the capture of two Soviet Red Army soldiers during World War II. A Soviet Red Army guerrilla unit sends two soldiers to find food: a heroic hero and a taciturn artilleryman. On the way, the two saw the people who were slaughtered and expressed some emotion. After the two met the village chief, the male protagonist knew that he had cooperated with the Germans to kill him, but in the end he just killed one of his livestock. After leaving the village chief's house, the two were attacked by the Germans, and the artillery was shot in the leg, which made him want to commit suicide. But the heroic hero carried him away and took refuge with a family. As soon as the two met the hostess, the Germans appeared, quickly found the two, and captured the hostess and the two.
They were discovered because the male lead surrendered under the threat of a gun. When the Germans escorted them, the male protagonist tried to escape, but did not act for fear of being killed. After several people arrived, the artilleryman was tortured to death and refused to confess, but the male protagonist confessed everything. In prison, the male protagonist asked the artillery to compromise, and preserving his life was the most important thing, which made the artillery very angry and called him a traitor. The next day, the Germans began to execute, and the hero, who was afraid of death, proposed to join the Germans, and the officer agreed. This time, the hero becomes the real traitor. Later, the male protagonist hangs four people, along with other Germans. In the end, the male protagonist couldn't bear the condemnation of his conscience and wanted to commit suicide, but he failed and collapsed completely.
It's been a few days since I watched this movie, so I'm just writing about it today. The reason is simple: I'm getting lazy. I have a hard time watching one movie a day, and I’ve been watching art films lately, so I’m really not interested. But if one is not written, the next one will be left behind, so we still have to continue! But I have nothing to write about this movie because the theme of the movie is the name of my title: The Birth of a Traitor, and someone has written about this topic in great detail on the Internet. What else should I write since I can't come up with new ideas? Just say it briefly. The film mainly describes how a heroic figure compromised and defected under the threat of death, and collapsed under the condemnation of conscience after the mutiny. In a nutshell, the film excavates human nature and shows the complexity of human nature. Objectively speaking, this is a movie with a profound theme, but because of my own mood, I don't like it.
In addition, the film does not elaborate in depth on the transformation of the male protagonist. It only depicts the changes in the male protagonist, but the underlying reasons are not analyzed. This is probably what the director left the audience to think about. In my opinion, there are two reasons for the male protagonist to become a traitor. One is the lack of loyal beliefs, that is, the lack of firmness in what he struggles for; the other is the lack of good character qualities, such as strength, courage, and so on. For these two reasons, the male protagonist succumbed to death and became the lackey of the Germans. Of course, if you think about it from another angle, there is nothing wrong with the male protagonist-who is not afraid of death? It is understandable to choose to live. All in all, this film is a film without opinions. It requires the audience to think, understand, and choose the standpoint of judgment. It is a very clever film!
The film is shot in a typical "artistic film" style, that is, there is no good-looking and attractive picture, and it can only make people drowsy. The whole film is a step-by-step narrative for most of the time, and the beginning to the end is quite satisfactory. Only at the end of the film, the close-up of the male protagonist's exaggerated and distorted face, showing his pain, reminds me that this is an art film that has won three awards. So overall, it's a little better than an art film but dull enough. There is nothing to say about the actors; they were all Soviet actors many years ago, and the information is pitiful, so I won't say anything. Just a brief evaluation of them: the actors are all excellent, especially the male lead's hideous, painful face; very real. In conclusion, this is a relatively simple art film, but it reveals profound and complex human nature. Even if it is not good-looking, it is good work.
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