It would be an understatement to say that I didn't understand this movie. I was not sure what was going on for most of the movie. There is a scene featuring Masha that inexplicably adds nothing to the plot--plus it's kind of creepy. Not to mention that the movie is super slow. That being said, there is a pretty powerful anti-war message. War steals childhood and innocence away from the young. It is unapologetic. There is an amazing shot of Ivan framed by sharp, broken timber beams. In class, Professor Moss showed us a video of a compilation of shots from The Revenant that are seemingly modeled after Tarkovsky's movies. And for the record, I said the same thing before she showed us that video. I saw that shot of the flowing river and immediately thought of The Revenant.
