Re: [OT] "Enemy At The Gates" Review

I'm sure someone else has laready mentioned this, but the T-34/85
turrets
and a later scene in the movie with a burnt out T-34/85 in the
background
were the only technical (in terms of equipment) mistakes that I spotted
when
I went to see the movie.  The T-34/85 was not in use in late '42!

Other than that--excellently done!  A four bullet movie (or would that
be
five, for that neat sequence early on).

And I really liked Ron Pearleman's character.

For what its worth (2 cents).

Rob

----- Original Message -----
From: "Allan Goodall" <awg@sympatico.ca>
To: <gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu>
Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2001 5:34 PM
Subject: [OT] "Enemy At The Gates" Review

> This is off topic, but I know a lot of people were interested in this
film.
>
> "Enemy At The Gates" is the story of a sniper duel during the Battle
of
> Stalingrad. There is a question as to whether this duel ever took
place.
It's
> a part of Soviet folklore, but the incident is very much in question.
>
> I came to the conclusion that the director Jean-Jacques Annaud ("The
Bear",
> "Quest For Fire", "Name of the Rose", "Seven Years in Tibet") knows
very
well
> that this is folklore and may not be true. The conflict between
reality
and
> propaganda is a recurring theme throughout the film.
>
> I had the good fortune of attending the movie with two friends who are
much
> more literate in film than I am (one of them, Michael Skeet, is
reviewing
the
> film for CBC radio). My friend Dave Nickle (journalist and writer)
pointed
out
> that much of the film, from lighting to composition, is a deliberate
homage to
> the great Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein ("The Battleship
Potemkin")
(see
>
http://www.carleton.edu/curricular/MEDA/classes/media110/Severson/eisens
te.h
tm).
> This is echoed in the Soviet style art deco graphics used during the
end
> credits and the cartoon of Nazism "flowing" into the Soviet Union at
the
> beginning of the film.
>
> The focus of the film is Vassily Zeitsev (Jude Law), a farm boy from
the
Urals
> who is thrown into the meat grinder of Stalingrad -- without even a
rifle --
> and becomes a Soviet legend. He saves the life of Political Officer
Danilov
> (Joseph Fiennes, "Shakespeare In Love") by killing 5 Germans with 5
bullets.
> Danilov turns this episode into a propaganda coup, designed to raise
the
> morale of Soviet troops in the city. He builds up Zeitsev into a
sniper
ace,
> reporting his kills with all the zeal reserved for World War I fighter
pilots.
> In response to this, the Germans send in their own ace sniper, Major
Koenig
> (Ed Harris, "Apollo 13", "The Truman Show"), to eliminate Zeitsev.
>
> You're never really sure what is real and what isn't. It occurred to
me
later
> just how many Germans you see Zeitsev kill... and that number is
incredibly
> low. The theme that Zeitsev has been built up as something he's not is
> presented consistently. There's a mythical quality to Koenig. He
appears
in
> Stalingrad on an empty train, where he is the only person in his train
car.
> Zeitsev dirties his face and covers his gun in burlap, yet the only
dirt
> Harris' Koenig gets on him seems to be his boots (though his gloves do
get
> ripped). I've heard people criticize this, but I think it is wholly
> intentional. Annaud is so meticulous in details that he included the
wreck
of
> an obscure, but accurate, German aircraft in the ruins of the city. He
> obviously understands the way that snipers camouflage themselves. Yet,
Koenig
> seems "above" that. This is very much deliberate.
>
> A clue to this is the climactic confrontation between Zeitsev and
Koenig.
It
> takes place in a railroad yard that is completely empty except for the
two
of
> them. Everything is quiet and still, in spite of it occurring during
the
> battle of Stalingrad. The effect is quite intentional. Symbollically,
the
war
> has come down to the conflict of these two men, and these two men are
so
> hyper-focused that nothing else seems to exist. The lighting, though,
is
> exactly the same dull, washed out grey tone as is found in the opening
scene
> of Zeitsev hunting his first wolf. Are the colours used just as a
framing
> device? Or is Annaud suggesting that this final confrontation is
nothing
more
> than a legend? I personally believe the latter.
>
> Another theme is that of class struggle. Annaud made an intelligent
decision
> by not forcing the actors to use fake accents. The Soviets have
British
> accents. The educated Soviets have upper class accents, while Law and
Bob
> Hoskins (playing Nikita Kruschev) represent Soviet workers with their
working
> class English accents. Harris keeps his American accent, and it works.
>
> The love story that has many worried (i.e. that the movie has "gone
> Hollywood") is handled very well and as part of the class struggle
theme.
In
> the "worker's paradise" all are equal and there is no reason for
jealousy.
> Yet, Danilov eventually realizes that humans are NOT equal, that there
is
> always someone who is born with better attributes. As such, he can not
prevent
> Tania Chernova (Rachel Weisz), an educated woman from Stalingrad who
has
> volunteered to defend her people, from falling for Zeitsev. This sets
up
the
> conflict between Zeitsev and Danilov. The love story is a fairly small
part of
> the film, and is set up nicely early on by showing two other snipers
that
> obviously have a relationship of their own.
>
> The battle scenes are very well done, particularly the first battle
scene
> where Zeitsev is thrown into the conflict. The sniper duel scenes are
tense
> and well crafted. The CGI Junkers 88s bombing the city, and the Stukas
> attacking the boats as they cross the Volga, show that it is indeed
possible
> to do a World War II film accurately with computer animation. There
weren't a
> lot of tanks shown, but those that I saw looked authentic. Early on
there's an
> armoured train car with two T34/85 tank turrets mounted on it, which I
thought
> was well done. The ruined buildings are excellently portrayed, though
it
would
> take someone with more knowledge of the battle than me to see if the
city
was
> laid out in an authentic manner.
>
> From an acting point of view, I thought the performances were well
done
> throughout. Ron Perlman (best known as the Beast from the "Beauty and
the
> Beast" TV show, but last seen in "Alien Resurrection") is a treat as a
Soviet
> sniper who studied under Koenig before the war.
>
> This is an artistic film. But it proves that a film can work as a war
movie
> and an art film at the same time. The art direction and the symbolism
all
> point to film of multiple dimensions. But it is possible to enjoy this
movie
> just as a war film, and a well made war film at that.
>
>
> Allan Goodall 		 awg@sympatico.ca
> Goodall's Grotto:  http://www.vex.net/~agoodall
>
> "Now, see, if you combine different colours of light,
>  you get white! Try that with Play-Doh and you get
>  brown! How come?" - Alan Moore & Kevin Nolan,
>    "Jack B. Quick, Boy Inventor"
>
>