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a lot of americans don't know much about arguably the most important front of wwii (the german invasion of russia) and arguably the most important battle of the war (the siege of stalingrad). this film won't really educate anyone very much, but it's an entertaining spectacle with heart.
a few pithy words:
the first russian feature (and one of the few in the world) filmed entirely in imax 3d, this was not coincidentally the most expensive russian film ever made at the time. much of it looks like a zack snyder film, but it has less groan-inducing dialogue than you might imagine. it's essentially based on the true story of a ragtag platoon of russian soldiers who held out in this 4-story apartment building in downtown stalingrad for over 2 months against overwhelming german forces. the actual events are phenomenal, and the sergeant who led the men (yakov pavlov) became a russian hero. the film strays pretty far from this basis in reality though, focusing instead on 2 russian women trapped in stalingrad, one with pavlov's men, and one behind german lines. how they impact the soldiers and the people in the city is the emotional core of the film, for better or worse.
high points:
there are a number of bombastic action scenes that echo mr. snyder, so if you're a fan of his style, that'll be a big draw. they look great in imax, and i imagine they would've been insane in 3d. the film becomes increasingly more about the quiet moments though, and it allows performances to shine through. the russians are almost uniformly great. some of the soldiers seem almost like caricatures but having met quite a few russians, i can say that there really are people out there like that and it rang true to me. i could picture them each being based off of people the writer knew, but they're also meant to symbolize something more. this is particularly true with katya (mariya smolnikova), who comes to symbolize everything good and traditionally russian that the soldiers are fighting for, rather than any of the political morass they might have been much more ambivalent about. thomas kretschmann as also great as kapitan kan, the conflicted german officer. it's noteworthy that the nazis get about as fair of a portrayal here as they've probably even gotten in a non-propagandist film...
low points:
first off, nobody should even attempt to watch a dubbed version of this (it's distractingly sub-par). and for me, the framing device of telling this story to earthquake victims was both unnecessary and seemed a little message-y (look how forgiving we are!) it's also important not to set expectations of historical accuracy. the actual pavlov's house was much more heavily fortified, with many more men involved, and was much more successful: it stands as a monument today! this film also firmly focuses on russians defending their homeland, and doesn't show the nasty political side of stalinism like any soldier that had been behind enemy lines being assumed to have turned and so imprisoned afterwards(!). it's very pure in its focus on emotional drama...which could get melodramatic and melancholic for some. if you've read less heady russian literature, you know the mood you're in for. also, some people will like the stark gray cinematography, but for me it often made differentiating characters difficult. there are a lot of soldiers in gray and brown uniforms covered in dirt and ash, and i didn't know who a lot of them were even near the end.
final thoughts:
the film is a tribute to the resolve and grit of the russian people at stalingrad, but also embraces the tragedy of war (on both sides). it has quite a few emotionally evocative moments, which i imagine firmly turned off academy voters who would want something drier and more of a political statement. this is closer to a sort of spielberg popcorn movie, and a pretty worthwhile one.
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