rdolphijn
As Russia has nothing to be proud of, they opened a can withfictional heroes, who are bullet, flame and steel resistant.
paulclaassen
Director Fedor Bondarchuk already won me over with films like '9th Company' and 'Attraction' (his latest film), which are both among my favorites. I finally got my hands on 'Stalingrad' and watched it in great anticipation, and wasn't let down one bit! 'Stalingrad' is among my favorite war films. It was also one of the more touching war films, and not detailed gore like some war movies. I really enjoyed the back ground stories of each of the main characters. All of them had a very definite reason for being there and being who they are. The film features some of the best visuals I've ever seen with great sound. The music was awesome, as well. The battle scenes were incredibly well done.
anselmdaniel
This review contains spoilers.Stalingrad is a war movie set in the second Wold War in the Battle of Stalingrad. The movie follows both the Soviet and German army's perspectives as the battle unfolds. Most of the story follows the perspectives of Soviet soldiers that find shelter in an apartment building.This movie is a mess. Many story arcs are jumbled that causes the audience to be unable to follow a character well. The story tried to do too much and it only causes the audience to be confused. The Soviet soldiers in the apartment are fine as characters on their own, but the movie follows each of them causing a jumbling mess. This is further exacerbated by the movie spending time with the German officer and his Russian collaborator. Many of these characters die with their arcs unfulfilled which adds to the pointlessness of following the characters.Besides the story, the action is decent but not impressive. The action could have been better directed, with some of the computer effects being bland. The sound design is great and I did not hear any blaring problems. Some of the action scenes are worth watching. Overall, I would not recommend Stalingrad. It is a movie with many problems in its plot. Some of the action scenes are worth watching even if it leans heavily on propaganda.
fung0
This is a very odd film, obviously mixing a variety of genres and movie tropes, with uneven results. Nonetheless, I found it worthwhile, though I was forced to revise my expectations continuously while I watched.Like the previous German 'Stalingrad,' this Russian film does not attempt to tell the story of this pivotal battle of World War II. Instead, it once more burrows down to give us a worm's-eye view - this time from the Russian side. But where the German film captures only chaos and madness, the Russian version gives us at least a symbolic representation of the larger reality. We don't see the vast strategies at play, or the chronology of the battle. But we do glimpse the scale of the devastation, and we do get some perspective on the undoubted fortitude of the Russian defenders.There's a very odd 21st Century gloss over all all this. The film uses trendy digital techniques, and even IMAX 3D. (Mercifully, I saw the 'flat' version.) This gives it a hyper-kinetic, surreal quality that seems painfully at odds with the historical subject matter. This is the battle of Stalingrad as seen by a modern time-traveler, not as it would have appeared to the participants. The film is impeccably produced, but the stylistic approach will be understandably off-putting to many viewers.However, almost obscured by all the high-tech technique, there's a rather beautiful little story struggling to escape. The tale is presented as a reminiscence, almost as a fable. It's about one small group of soldiers, who befriend a young civilian survivor. This girl, Katya, refuses to move out of her apartment, even though her friends, neighbors and family have all perished there. And even though the Germans bring ever greater firepower to bear against the building.Young Katya does a pretty good job of representing The Spirit of the Russian People. Idealized, certainly, but why not? Surely those who fought and died in this gruesome battle deserve to be idealized, if anyone does. Katya's innocence is the innocent hope of every civilian population that's ever been subject to invasion and subjugation. How could ANYONE endure the unimaginable hardships of war and occupation, if they couldn't cling to some vision that it would all be worth it, that in the end things would come out right?The soldiers are also stereotypes, but likable ones. Like Katya, they're icons that do ring true on some human level. Their violence - on both Russian and German sides - is casual, senseless. This is a view of war reduced to a personal battle of wills, between opponents who no longer clearly remember their original objectives. And the individual dramatic arcs do work, despite the odd style of the film.It is both a compliment and a criticism to say that this version of 'Stalingrad' is 'enjoyable.' The creators have wrung a very positive, very human story out of the chaos of large-scale butchery. It's an odd objective, to be sure, and one that many will find inappropriate. But taken purely as a cinematic creation, 'Stalingrad' is definitely worth seeing. And, in some strange way, it does deepen our understanding of the time and place it depicts.It's true, this 'Stalingrad' is impossible to watch without mixed feelings. But perhaps that's as it should be, for any film on this topic.
