Devochka ishchet otsa

That was just an amazing experience to watch this movie on TV yesterday. Old forester and his grandson found little girl, which mom was killed by Germans. And then you will see such a moving story of two poor children, hunt by German solders, collaborating scum and dogs in the forests, struggling to survive almost for whole movie. Germans, trying to catch 5 years old girl to make her their hostage, because her father is the Soviet partisan commander, and young boy trying to save her. For some time, when little baby was lost in the forest alone or when Germans finally caught two children your hope is almost broken, but surprisingly, this movie have happy end. It is a simple story, that reminds “Hotaru no haka” but you just sit on the edge of your seat through the all movie.

Yes, I have seen this film; this statement seems remarkable considering how obscure this title is. It was made in what is now Belarus in 1959 with the title "Dziauchynka Shuka'e Bac'ku", but the (then) Soviet Union released it under the Russian title "Devochka Ishchet Osta". Both titles roughly translate as "The Girl Seeks Her Father", which seems to be the International English title. The film was set in Russia during World War II and is about a 5 year old girl searching for her partisan leader father while escaping from the Nazis. The film is beautifully made in colour and won the Mar-del-Place award in 1960 followed by another award in Venice in 1965. I think it was the Italians who then dubbed it into English. I saw it in Bangalore, India in 1966 under the title "Escapade in Russia" and it was simply unforgettable. I feel someone should find this film and make a DVD of it. It is a classic example of how good some Eastern European movies can be.