The pilot : A battle for survival

Language : Russian

 

Year of Release : 2022

 

Run time : 1h46min

 

Genre : Drama / War / History / Survival / Action

 

Cast : Pyotr Fyodorov

 

 

The movie opens in November 1941,in the first World War, and moves through 1943.

 

A pilot of the Soviet Union lands his plane after the plane was shot and lost a lot of fuel. Unfortunately,he and his comrade,landed in the part of Russia under the Nazi command,and were hunted down,having to run for their lives.

His comrade is killed,but he managed to leave him on a floating ice patch.

 

When he wakes up he faces ice cold water of the Russian winter,the Nazi troops who are always one step behind,and a hungry pack of wolves.

We see him trying to survive drinking water made from melted snow,and berries,while his health is deteriorating,having frost bites in both legs and double pneumonia.

The battle scenes and his struggle for survival are mixed with his life before this mission, when he meets Olga, a former singer, who is robbed. They start seeing each other, and he promises to her he'll come back alive from the war.

The movie was good, it's made at the Hollywood standards of craftsmanship .

Our lead is a patriot and wants to serve his country no matter what. SPOILERS He survives against the odds, and is obsessed with going back in, his wife supporting his decision, and all I could think was, first of all, they are both crazy,2nd,if this happens again, if the plane is hit and crashes in the middle of nowhere, he dies there, as he had no legs, just prosthetics, and he could barely walk with a cane!

One thing that bothers me lately with movies English and foreign, is the need of the makers/directors to have their actors, in this case female, strip. There was no need for such a scene in this sort of movie, since it's dedicated to the soldiers/pilots of the Russian Federation/Soviet Union who defended their country in the 2nd World War (they willingly returned to service after losing their legs or feet!). It's not even a flattering angle! And it cheapens the movie!

The actors were great,especially Pyotr Fyodorov,who deserves the Oscar for this role.

 

The soundtrack was Ok, the set design and the costumes top notch,so were the action scenes and visual effects.

Rating : Worth a watch !