It’s an aggressively stirring account of a nation painfully enduring catastrophic conflict as prelude to independence.
Blizzard of Souls(Dvēseļu putenis)
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Latvia · 2019
2h 4m
Director Dzintars Dreibergs
Starring Oto Brantevics, Vilis Daudziņš, Ivars Krasts, Gatis Gāga
Genre Drama, History, War
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Bare witness to the brutality and horror of the First World War, as seen through the eyes of an innocent 17-year-old farm boy turned soldier. After witnessing his mother's execution, Arturs joins one of Latvia's first national battalions with his father. Soon, his naive search for glory is derailed by the grim realities of war.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
With its muscular direction by former documentarian Dzintars Dreibergs, atmospheric cinematography and careful attention to period detail, this account of a troop of Latvian Riflemen fighting first for the Russian Imperial Army against invading German forces and then for an independent Latvia should appeal to WWI buffs and fans of Sam Mendes’ “1917.”
RogerEbert.com by Carlos Aguilar
Dreibergs excels with his measured but immersive set pieces—like one that unravels in a snowy landscape at night, best exemplifying his directorial brawn.
The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young
The imagery is epic and dreamlike at the same time, the battleground covered in mist, grain stubble, snow.
Brantevics convincingly portrays Arturs’ four-year transformation from a callow youth to a war-weary one, but as a national coming-of-age story, The Rifleman never quite outgrows its innocent, uncritical patriotism.
The New York Times by Glenn Kenny
“Blizzard” is almost immaculately shot and edited, but its good-taste approach to warfare, along with its treacly music score by Lolita Ritmanis, underscores what seems its main reason for being: a relentless “Go, Latvia!” agenda — which has extended to its marketing here.
Slant Magazine by Mark Jenkins
The filmmakers are unafraid of the picturesque, lighting scenes so they resemble old-master canvases.
Los Angeles Times by Robert Abele
Even with a thinly drawn lead, Blizzard of Souls maintains an undeniably raw power as a small country’s coming-of-age story, told through a bright-eyed wannabe hero and forged in a maelstrom of death and disillusionment.
Users who liked this film also liked
Eastern Promises
A midwife investigates the rape of a teenager, but her investigation leads her into the world of the Russian mafia.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Canada, United States • 2007
- Director David Cronenberg
- Cast Naomi Watts, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinéad Cusack, Donald Sumpter
- Genre Thriller, Crime, Mystery
- Available on fuboTV, Paramount Plus, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Rogue
How Fast Can You Swim?
- Australia • 2007
- Director Greg McLean
- Cast Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, Sam Worthington, Caroline Brazier, Stephen Curry, Celia Ireland
- Genre Action, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Starz, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, FXNow
The Ages of Lulu
(Las edades de Lulú)
A scorching Spanish sexual awakening.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 1990
- Director Bigas Luna
- Cast Francesca Neri, Óscar Ladoire, María Barranco, Fernando Guillén Cuervo, Rosana Pastor, Javier Bardem
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
1944
When Russian and German forces clash in Estonia during WWII, local soldiers must pick sides and make impossible choices.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Estonia, Finland • 2015
- Director Elmo Nüganen
- Cast Kristjan Üksküla, Kaspar Velberg, Märt Pius, Priit Pius, Priit Strandberg
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Midnight Pulp, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, VUDU Free, Freevee, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Paterson
A week in the life of a working-class poet named Paterson and his partner Laura—a DIY creative force—as they find inspiration through their daily activities and modest means.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany, United States • 2016
- Director Jim Jarmusch
- Cast Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Barry Shabaka Henley, Method Man, Chasten Harmon, William Jackson Harper
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Fandango At Home, Freevee
Memoir of a Murderer
(살인자의 기억법)
A former serial killer suffering from Alzheimer's realizes that his daughter is dating a psychotic murderer.
- Korea • 2017
- Director Won Shin-yeon
- Cast Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Nam-gil, Kim Seol-hyun, Oh Dal-su, Hwang Suk-jung, Kil Hae-yeon
- Genre Action, Crime, Thriller
- Available on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Kocowa, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
The Eight Hundred
(八佰)
During World War II, 800 Chinese soldiers fight to defend a warehouse complex from the Japanese army.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- China • 2020
- Director Guan Hu
- Cast Wang Qian-Yuan, Zhang Yi, Huang Zhizhong, Jiang Wu, Oho Ou, Du Chun
- Genre Action, Drama, History, War
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Rakuten Viki, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Freevee
Leaving Afghanistan
(Братство)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Russia • 2019
- Director Pavel Lungin
- Cast Kirill Pirogov, Yan Tsapnik, Vitaly Kishchenko, Fyodor Lavrov, Oleg Vasilkov, Anton Momot
- Genre Drama, Action, War
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Google Play Movies, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion
(마녀)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2018
- Director Park Hoon-jung
- Cast Kim Da-mi, Cho Min-soo, Park Hee-soon, Choi Woo-shik, Go Min-si, Choi Jung-woo
- Genre Action, Mystery, Science Fiction
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Shudder Amazon Channel, Rakuten Viki, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Kocowa, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Freevee, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
The Dig
A British widow hires a self-taught archaeologist to dig up mysterious formations on her land that leads to a staggering discovery.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2021
- Director Simon Stone
- Cast Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, Johnny Flynn, Ben Chaplin, Ken Stott
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads, Plex Channel
Kalashnikov AK-47
(Калашников)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Russia • 2020
- Director Konstantin Buslov
- Cast Yuriy Borisov, Olga Lerman, Artur Smolyaninov, Eldar Kalimulin, Vitaliy Khaev, Valeriy Barinov
- Genre War, History, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, VUDU Free, Freevee, Plex, Plex Channel
Gangs of Wasseypur - Making Uncut - The Roots of Revenge from Wasseypur
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- India • 2013
- Director Neeraj Ghaywan
- Cast Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anurag Kashyap, Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadha, Pankaj Tripathi
- Genre Documentary
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Mutation on Mars
(火星异变)
- ✭ ✭
- China • 2021
- Director
- Cast Shi Liang, Zhong Ren, Liu Xinqi, Xin Zuoyu, Fan Ziqi, Li Xinzhe
- Genre Drama, Science Fiction
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Io Capitano
Two young men from Senegal, Seydou and Moussa, embark on a Homeric journey from Dakar to Europe.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, Belgium • 2023
- Director Matteo Garrone
- Cast Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, Bamar Kane, Didier Njikam
- Genre Adventure, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Conference
(Konferensen)
A team-building conference goes terribly wrong when a mysterious figure begins murdering the participants.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden • 2023
- Director Patrik Eklund
- Cast Katia Winter, Adam Lundgren, Eva Melander, Bahar Pars, Amed Bozan, Maria Sid
- Genre Comedy, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads