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Pyotr Todorovsky's, "The Cadets."

Made as a 2005-season Russian tv mini-series, it certainly doesn't look, sound, or impress like one.
The story follows a group of army cadets as they progress through a 90-day artillery course. Lending a strong overtone of pending doom is the rumor repeated through the corps that the previous class of graduates were wiped out, to the man, almost immediately after they graduated and were posted to the front. At the point of the story's beginning, the battle of Stalingrad is at its apex: the cadets know where they will be posted, too.
However, all dangers are not before them. An officer and a cadet both become involved with a family which has all its food coupons stolen at the time when to do so meant almost certain starvation: all available food is being confiscated and shipped to the front.
The actions taken to save the family have critical consequences and show that the KGB is just as vicious an enemy as the Nazis. In fact, the secretive operatives accomplish something which no Panzer Division could: seriously affect the morale, esprit, and cohesion of the units.
I don't know how the Russians do it but, in film after film, the actors chosen to portray "action" men are perfect, looking every bit the part.
The commandant has a ravaged face seemingly which says more than any words could. He isn't portrayed as a blustering bag of wind, some pompous preening full-of-himself sack of dung as is common in American films' vision of leadership but rather as a thinking and deeply human man. Bravo!
The other officers and young cadets perfectly are cast, as well.
Oh, and their women also are prominently featured, fully fleshed-out (ahem) and very well-portrayed.
This truly is an exceptional experience to which I happily give *****!



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Topic - Pyotr Todorovsky's, "The Cadets." - tinear 05:21:33 11/24/07 (12)

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