Powerful drama, historical, riveting

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2001)

Based on the true life exploits of a Russian sniper during World War II and the German sniper sent to kill him. When the Germans start their invasion on the city of Stalingrad, a political officer Danilov, witnesses the incredible shooting skills of another comrade, Vasily Zaitsev, a young man who was taught by his grandfather to shoot. Over the following months Vasily eliminates many German officers and Danolov uses his exploits to raise moral throughout the Russian Army. The Germans bring in their own legendary sniper, Major Konig to track him down and eliminate him. What follows is a cat and mouse chase through the rubble of a destroyed city and the emotional struggle to survive. What was memorizing about this movie was the way the film makers drew the audience into the story. From the outstanding performances to the pacing and the emotional musical score, never were you given a chance to become restless or bored. Using some filming techniques seen before in Saving Private Ryan, the director really shows the brutality of the conflict between these enemies. The only failing that I would have to say about the movie would be the performers' accents. All the characters were either Russian or German, yet all the accents were British or American. Most noticeably was Rachel Weisz. She turns in a fantastic performance but her quite apparent British accent sometimes really distracts one away from the emotional attachment you might have towards the character. Overall I would recommend this movie to anyone who is up for a true-life tale of amidst the horrors of war. The graphic nature of the war scenes are not so over the top to scare away the squeamish, but it is shown so be prepared.