Brian Bonner: Top World War II movies - May. 09, 2011

Within them, however, are timeless classics. One of my all-time favorites is Ballad of A Soldier, the 1959 Soviet classic by director Grigori Chukrai and starring Vladimir Ivashov and Ukrainian-born Zhanna Prokhorenko.

Another Soviet classic, which brings me to tears every time I see it, is the 1962 classic “Among Kind People.” It is the story of a mother who becomes separated from her daughter during World War II. The daughter is raised by another family, while the mother never gives up her search for reunion. It has been kind of hard to find for me, but well worth watching, especially the heart-melting climax.

From a Ukrainian perspective, which gets overshadowed time and again, I turn to “Between Hitler and Stalin: Ukraine in World War II, An Untold Story.” The 2003 documentary by the Ukrainian Canadian Research & Documentation Centre is made to be seen again and again, as a vivid reminder that Ukrainians suffered more than any others during World War II. The aftermath of the suffering continues today and probably will for generations to come.

From the official summary of “Between Hitler and Stalin”:

“The film chronicles the struggle between the Nazi and Soviet regimes, from a Ukrainian perspective. The documentary recounts the events in Ukraine on the brink of the Second World War, during the Soviet occupation of Western Ukraine (1939–1941), the German-Soviet War, the Nazi occupation of Ukraine and the second Soviet occupation of Western Ukraine (1944). The impact of these events, which claimed 8 to 10 million Ukrainian lives, is depicted through segments on the “scorched-earth” policies of both powers; the tragedy of the Jews; and the 2.3 million Ukrainians taken as slave laborers (Ostarbeiters). The Ukrainians’ struggle against the Nazi occupiers and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army’s fight—against both totalitarian powers—for Ukraine’s independence are is portrayed.”

Here are some other links: