"Ballad of a Soldier" Response

The film that I watched today was directed by Grigory Chukhrai in 1959. It is about a 19 year old soldier, Alyosha, who returns home to his mother during his leave after destroying two enemy tanks in War World II. During the journey, he encounters love and a few civilians along the way. What I really enjoyed about this film was how emotional it was, and did not focus on the actual physical aspect of the war with all the blood and violence. Alyosha was a very likeable character that was selfless. He helped a lot of people on the way, not just wanting to go home to his mother. For example, he helps a one-legged soldier, as well as other people being attacked on the train, and he delivers a bar of soap to a friend's wife. It also really made me feel for the characters. It showed different types of love, such as familial and romance. Alyosha meets and helps out a young woman, Shura on the train. He ends up falling in love with her. What I really liked about these two is that they did not need to communicate with each other by words so much, but the way they stared at each other's eyes showed a real connection. In that specific scene, action spoke louder than words. I also loved the relationship he shared with his mother. The ending scene where his mother sees him for the first time in a long time was such a beautiful moment. But when Alyosha had to leave again to the unit was so sad, because the mother didn't want to see him risk his life again. It felt so realistic, because it is always hard to say goodbye to the ones we love. He made it so far and yet he has to go back and do his duty. This is a great film that explores humanity and honesty.