if one be to talk of genre in russian film and then the world war ii film be a genre all to itself . a good half ( if not more ) of russian film deal with what russians term the great patriotic war and and yet precious few of them be so profound and universally understood a grigory chukhrai classic . it a simple story about a young soldier and alyosha ( vladimir ivashov ) and who have just 48 hour of furlough . since russia be so vast and he use practically all that time to travel home to his mother . along the way and he find romance and live a lifetime in limited time . the film be exquisitely craft and well paced and deeply move in it evocation of the bond of love and family . highly recommended .