A comedy about an unruly group of soldiers in the Austro-Hun
Richard J. Brzostek | New England, USA | 07/09/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
""H.M. Deserters" (C.K. Dezerterzy) shows us a story about an unruly group of soldiers in the Austro-Hungarian army during WWI. They are soldiers who would rather spend their time at the whorehouse and very often look inept as soldiers, but they continuously make their commander look like a fool. I couldn't help but laugh at how they make a mockery of the rules and order of an army.
The film is broken into two parts. The first part deals with the soldiers at their camp, with much of the humor dealing with the ridiculous interactions of the soldiers and their sadistic commander who tries to discipline them. This was my favorite part of the movie and had more than a few parts that made me laugh out loud. I also thought it was funny that there is actually no fighting in the movie; the whole military aspect of the story is only the backdrop. This group of soldiers at the camp is made up of men from various nations under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with hardly any being Austrian or Hungarian, so they are not really motivated to be there.
The second part of the movie deals with five of the solders' escape (deserting) from the camp. They leave a trail of chaos behind them wherever they go, with women to remember them and men that were cheated by them. I found their adventures amusing and even erotic at times.
"H.M. Deserters" has adventure, an interesting storyline, and a good amount of humor mixed in. These deserters are very clever, witty, and know how to make their own excitement. Although you may not learn much about WWI, it may be perfect for that night you are looking for some comic relief.
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