Although this film is included in the genre of Nazi exploitation, there is very little, if any thing at all, that could be described as exploitative, unless you include a dozen or so beautiful young women taking their clothes off at various points during the film. There is not much of a story as it concerns a family who have displeased the Nazi regime and the two sisters who are drafted into the women's army to serve - and service - the brave German soldiers on the eastern front.
For a film of dubious merit, the production values are good, with genuine and/or replica German military vehicles and uniforms, Russian tanks and the use of a steam locomotive with carriages. For a director who made his name with soft core films, the sex scenes here are laughable to say the least, as are some of the military action scenes. In one scene, a couple leave their radio listening post to have sex, the girl being totally naked while the male remains fully clothed, making guttural grunting noises. In a scene where the train is strafed by an aeroplane, all the occupants abandon the train by jumping off from one side only, presumably because that was the side the camera was on.
What interested me were the production and filming locations but there are few clues in the film. Three of the credited crew have connections with the former Yugoslavia, principally Serbia; the locomotive carries a serial number and is of a type used by the old Yugoslav railways and the aeroplane seems to carry the insignia of the old Yugoslav air force. Using Google Earth (GE) and the photos thereon, I have tried to find the locations but a lot has happened to the former Yugoslavia since this film was made.
Photos on GE show that the now largely demolished Jasenovo film studio near Bela Crkva has huts similar to those seen in the film so my guess is, is that this was the site of the army barracks. The railway station is more problematic. There are few clues in the film but the two best candidates that I can come up with are Zrenjanin and Kovin but these come with reservations so unless something else comes up, that's it. As my review title says, the film is interesting for the wrong reasons.
For a film of dubious merit, the production values are good, with genuine and/or replica German military vehicles and uniforms, Russian tanks and the use of a steam locomotive with carriages. For a director who made his name with soft core films, the sex scenes here are laughable to say the least, as are some of the military action scenes. In one scene, a couple leave their radio listening post to have sex, the girl being totally naked while the male remains fully clothed, making guttural grunting noises. In a scene where the train is strafed by an aeroplane, all the occupants abandon the train by jumping off from one side only, presumably because that was the side the camera was on.
What interested me were the production and filming locations but there are few clues in the film. Three of the credited crew have connections with the former Yugoslavia, principally Serbia; the locomotive carries a serial number and is of a type used by the old Yugoslav railways and the aeroplane seems to carry the insignia of the old Yugoslav air force. Using Google Earth (GE) and the photos thereon, I have tried to find the locations but a lot has happened to the former Yugoslavia since this film was made.
Photos on GE show that the now largely demolished Jasenovo film studio near Bela Crkva has huts similar to those seen in the film so my guess is, is that this was the site of the army barracks. The railway station is more problematic. There are few clues in the film but the two best candidates that I can come up with are Zrenjanin and Kovin but these come with reservations so unless something else comes up, that's it. As my review title says, the film is interesting for the wrong reasons.