Lots of history books have been written about Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya so far, as she was the very first woman to receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Schools, streets and warships were named after her. Tankers proudly branded their tanks with "Zoya" name while attacking Berlin. Nonetheless the modern generation knows faintly nothing about what exactly Kosmodemyanskaya became famous for, however, this film's going put everything right.
As you see from the name, the main character here is Zoya herself. We meet her as a schoolgirl who is in love with a nice guy. It's summer ahead, time for relaxation and hope. Everything was good and joyful until the tragic date of June 22 came. It was then that Nazi Germany attacked the USSR, and all the young people headed to the front to defend their country. Zoya also found herself among the volunteers, and here's where the story turns serious.
Kosmodemyanskaya didn't go to a military hospital, didn't enter the disposal of some strategic facility, but picked out a sabotage detachment for herself. It is not easy for even old hand soldiers here, not to mention a fragile girl. Nonetheless Zoya set a target and did everything to make her name go down in history.
The film is fascinating because it is based on the memories of people who lived into the era of Kosmodemyanskaya and might have even known her. In addition, the authors gained access to important historical documents, and therefore the recreation of those tragic and at the same time heroic events corresponds to the canons of truth, which simply cannot be rewritten, no matter how anyone tries.
In the second half a real rough drama begins, since the Germans begin torturing the protagonist and it make you shiver and really frightens. Sensitive audience should take this into account. But I believe that it's quite right to demonstrate such episodes. As we simply have no right to allow anything of the kind to happen in the future!
In general, "Zoya" is a decent movie, which I highly recommend to all connoisseurs of high-quality military cinematography, it shows history as it was. Unvarnished and without falsehood. Look carefully and draw your own conclusions.
