Alicia I love this movie so much

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

PodBill Just what I expected

dbborroughs On the box Bastards (its English title) was billed as the Russian Battle Royal. Actually this is closer to the Dirty Dozen with kids. The premise of the story, which is at least based in some truth, is that during the Second World War the Soviets took the kids they arrested with Capital crimes and gave them a choice be shot or atone with blood, ie. take on suicide missions (something the Soviets really gave their criminals). They are brought to a mountain top training facility where they are trained by military men, some of whom are in equally dire circumstances. The film follows some of the boys and some of the trainers. Its an often nasty look at the cost of war, and of the soviets. Its clear that the boys are not afraid of anything, at least until faced with death because of some things they've done. The fear is used to some extent by their trainers who execute anyone who doesn't do what they are suppose to or in one case kill another boy they owe money to. The film mostly concerns the training but in the late stages we watch as several boys are sent out on a mission and their trainers, who now view the boys as sons, wait to see if they will return. This is a good little film. The film for the most part is all about the characters and thats where the film scores. The kids are the right amount of cocky and fearful.The adults are nicely tough, loving and bewildered. Its a good mix. The action when it happens is good. If there is a flaw its that the film is too breezy at 97 minutes which left me wanting to see more of many scenes at the training camp. That said the film is worth a look.

Ivan Elez In the process of watching this "war drama" you feel like vomiting - so bad is the movie. Boring, embarrassing, dull, made by people with a total absence of talent. Moreover, the movie is totally embarrassing for our country and our people. Millions of soviet people died during the WWII, and now those, who survived and won can do absolutely nothing to a fact, that they, their battle comrades, the whole nation - all is mixed with sh*t. Why do we make such movies? Is there nothing about the war to be filmed? There are lots of stories to be told, lots of heroes to be shown. Why inventing a story, that has never happened? Damn this movie!!

ninoguapo Recently I have noticed that the Russians began to make very good movies – and Svolochi is for sure one of them. The action is really moving – while the viewer has a choice - to sympathize with the young criminals who seemed doomed to die or to look at them from a different perspective. Some of the boys were caught for committing crimes such as murders and they were given a chance between death and training in a military preparing them for risky missions behind the enemy lines. The movie does not do very good on the realistic scale but still seeing it is worth it as it has some quite emotional moments and the acting was pretty decent.

Cameron There is an absolutely fabulous Foreign Action, Drama, War Movie put out by the Russian film industry called " Svolochi " or " Bastards " as the English translation goes. " Svolochi " or " Bastards " is a current 2006 release directed by Aleksandr Atanesyan -- clearly, Atanesyan will be a name to remember. With excellent cinematography by Dmitriy Youshenkov, " Svolochi " features a cast of young stars portraying the young " Bastards " who range in ages from 12 to 17 and who have come from dysfunctional backgrounds, raised themselves from the gutters and learned the craft in the world of crime, murder, and mayhem. They have been caught by the police and are sent to a secret desolate military training base run by Nachalnik Vishnevskiy, convincingly portrayed by Andrei Panin. Vishnevskiy is a Russian military commandant trained to do covert activities -- and a man who has little to live for in the sense that he has lost his wife and child and has little else to live for. Here in their desolate lair, Vishnevskiy and his staff of military experts train the boys to work with explosives, scale rocky crests and cliffs, and handle military weapons -- but they know all too well how to handle weapons already. And as the boys continue to abuse each other with their own deceptive and conniving ways, Vishnevskiy and his men develop a respect if not bond with and for the young boys. As first one, and then another of the young ones are killed in accidents and murder, the boys decide it is nearing their time to break away from their military confines. But all too late come their plans as Vishnevskiy is given his orders to prepare the first group for their mission. The movie poignantly and superbly unfolds to reveal a climactic conclusion that staggers the mind with the possibility of reality and the hellish ordeal the " Bastards" must face -- making the " Svolochi " a new must see future classic of Russian films -- absolutely, moving, eloquent, and superbly crafted.